MODULE 3: COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS
SCIENCE Quarter 2
COMETS SOME ASTEROIDS OF NOTE:
The word "comet" comes from the Greek word aster • CERES 1000 km in diameter – the largest asteroid. First
kometes, which means "long-haired star" asteroid discovered, in 1801. It is a C-Type found in the
Also known as “Dirty Snow Ball”; are loose collections of main belt.
ice, dust, and small rocky particles whose orbits are usually • PALLAS – 2nd to the largest with a diameter of 540 km
very long, narrow ellipses. • VESTA 555 km in diameter. Discovered in 1807. It is an S-
Move in a highly elliptical shaped Type found in the main belt. It is the brightest asteroid
Structure of a Comet: and can occasionally be seen with the unaided eye. Its
A Comet’s Head stony composition is largely basalt – a volcanic type of
– Nucleus - the central solid mass of a comet. It’s made of rock.
about 85% water ice, with frozen carbon dioxide, carbon • 1991 BA – one of the smallest, only 20 feet across
monoxide, methane, ammonia, dirt and dust mixed in. • DACTYL 1.4 km in diameter. It is the first asteroid moon
With an average size from 1 km to 20 km in diameter. found. It orbits the asteroid named Ida.
– Coma - Outer layer (water vapor, CO 2, and other gases) • EROS a cigar shaped asteroid. First asteroid found to travel
can reach a diameter of 200,000 km, larger than the size mainly inside the orbit of Mars and the first to be orbited
of Jupiter. and landed on by a spacecraft. It is named for the god of
– Hydrogen Cloud - even larger and more tenuous cloud love in Greek mythology.
that surrounds the coma, made of light hydrogen gas. • IDA was the second asteroid to be observed close up by a
A Comet’s Tail spacecraft. Ida was found to have a moon that orbits it.
– As a comet approaches the sun and heats up, some of The moon was named Dactyl.
its gas and dust stream outward, forming a tail. • PSYCHE 256 km in diameter. Discovered in 1852. An M-
o Most comets have 2 tails: gas tail (ion tail) and dust Type found in the main belt. If its metal could be mined, it
tail would supply all our metal needs for hundreds, perhaps
– Tails point away from the sun because of the force of thousands, of years.
the solar wind.
Most comets are found in 2 regions of the solar system: METEORS‚ METEOROIDS and METEORITES
• Kuiper belt - doughnut-shaped region that extends Meteoroid: A small rocky object in space that come from
beyond Neptune’s orbit to about 100 times Earth’s comets or asteroids. Sizes may range from dust-sized to 1
distance from the sun where short-period comets are km.
found. Meteor: A meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere and
• Oort cloud - spherical region of comets that surrounds burns up They are usually 80-160 km high in the
the solar system out to more than 1,000 times the atmosphere.
distance between Pluto and the sun where long-period Meteorite: The rock that makes it to the Earth’s surface
comets are found. after surviving the journey through the Earth’s
Two Groups of Comets: atmosphere.
Short-period comets – have orbits that take less than 200 Meteorites are of importance to scientists in studying the
years. occurrence of different elements and compounds on Earth.
Long-period comets – have orbits that take more than Three types of Meteorites:
200 years. Stony, stony-iron, iron meteorites
ASTEROIDS METEOR SHOWER
• Asteroids are solid pieces of rock that have been left Meteoroid can come from comets. Comets orbit the
around the Solar System from the time when the planets Sun and leave fragments on their orbit as they continue their
formed. They are also called “Minor Planets” or journey around the Sun. These fragments continue to orbit the
“Planetoids.” Sun just like their parent comets. When Earth orbits the Sun and
• Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt located passes through the orbit of a comet fragments are found we
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. observe many streaks of light from Earth which is called meteor
• Smaller than a planet but larger than a meteoroid shower.
• Asteroids are quite irregular in shape and therefore the
light they reflect from the Sun fluctuates as they move SOME IMPORTANT METEOR SHOWER CALENDAR:
and rotate • Quadrantids : Peak date - January 3
• Orbit the Sun in slightly elliptical orbits • Perseids : Peak date - August 12 - the most popular meteor
• Are made of metals, silicate, iron, nickel, and carbon. shower as seen from the northern hemisphere.
• Orionids : Peak date - October 21
GROUPS OF ASTEROIDS CLASSIFED BY ORBITS: • Leonids : Pead date - November 17 - are best known for
• Athens Asteroids: lie outside the asteroid belt near the producing great meteor storms in the years of 1833, 1866,
orbit of Mars, including Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta 1966, and 2001.
• Apollo Asteroids: Asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit. • Geminids : Peak date - December 13
• Amor Asteroids: Asteroids that cross Mars’ orbit, but
not Earth’s. Comets and asteroids are referred to be astronomers as
• Trojan Asteroids: Asteroids found within the orbit of Near-Earth Objects (NEO).
Jupiter. Comets and asteroids reflect light from the Sun at varying
• Asteroid Belt: The area between Mars and Jupiter amounts depending on the size and composition.
where most asteroids are found. The presence of more silicates allows a comet or asteroid to
reflect light.
3 TYPES OF ASTEROID COMPOSITIONS: Comet and asteroid both orbit the Sun and move relatively
• C-Type Asteroids - Those asteroids made of slow when viewed from Earth.
carbonaceous materials, typical of the outer asteroid The orbit of an asteroid is more rounded and less elliptical
belt and the Trojan asteroids. than the orbit of a comet.
• S-Type Asteroids - Those asteroids made of stony or The meteoroids that cause meteor showers come from
silicate materials, typical of the inner asteroid belt. comets, but they may also come from an asteroid like in the
• M-Type Asteroids - Those asteroids made mostly of case of the Geminids.
metals.
