Other Objects in the Solar System

Question 1

meaning of the name “asteroid”?

Answer 1

comes from the Greek word meaning starlike

Question 2

where are asteroids found?

Answer 2

in between Mars and Jupiter and in the asteroid belt

Question 3

how are asteroids formed?

Answer 3

fragments from large large collisions and dust particles that formed together

Question 4

shape and composition of asteroids

Answer 4

rocky, metallic objects

Question 5

definition of a meteor

Answer 5

smaller chunks of solid matter that burn up in our atmosphere due to friction

Question 6

meaning of the name meteor

Answer 6

thing high up in the sky

Question 7

alternate name for a meteor

Answer 7

shooting stars

Question 8

origins of meteor

Answer 8

most meteors are pieces of other large bodies such as moons, comets, asteroids and planets that broke away

Question 9

three most common meteor showers

Answer 9

perseids, geminds, leonids

Question 10

meteorite definition

Answer 10

a larger meteor that actually reaches Earth’s surface

Question 11

meteorite example

Answer 11

allende meteorite

Question 12

crater example

Answer 12

barringer crater

Question 13

definition of comet

Answer 13

chunks of frozen matter that orbit the Sun in a very long elliptical path

Question 14

what type of path does a comet have

Answer 14

elliptical path

Question 15

tail formation of a comet

Answer 15

when in approaches the Sun, the comet is warmed and this causes the frozen material to become a gas

the solar wind and radiation pressure cause the formation of the tail

Question 16

which direction does the tail of a comet point?

Answer 16

away from the Sun

Question 17

why is Halley’s comet named after Edmund Halley?

Answer 17

he was the first to predict when it would appear

Question 18

orbital period of Halley’s comet

Answer 18

76 years

Question 19

last visit of Halley’s comet

Answer 19

1986

Question 20

next visit of Halley’s comet

Answer 20

2061

Question 21

meteors are quite common. why do you think that few meteorites have been found?

Answer 21

many meteors burn up in the atmosphere, and don’t actually hit the Earth.

Question 22

why does a comet’s tail always point away from the Sun?

Answer 22

solar winds push the gases from the comet away from the Sun

Question 23

astronomers believe huge comets may orbit the Sun, but there is no record of anyone ever seeing them. why?

Answer 23

long orbital periods

not close enough to to Earth or Sun