Comets & Asteroids
By Veronica Meyers
Comets
- Comet- a small celestial body made up of ice and dirt.
- Comets are formed in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. They are left over material from when the planets were formed.
- Unlike planets' circular orbit, comets revolve around the sun in an oval shape.
- When comets are far away, they are covered in ice. As they get closer to the sun, the comet gains a "tail" made of dirt.
- Comets' tails are formed when they get close to heat. The ice melts, leaving behind a trail of water and rocks.
- This is comet 1P or Halley's Comet.
- Pictures are taken of comets by using a time exposure. Make sure your camera is steady and has a dark, unobstructed view of the sky.
What are comets? Martin Archer of Head Squeeze explains it to us. He'll tell us where comets come from. Comets we see more often come from the Kuiper belt. Less frequent comets come from the Oort Cloud. A nucleus is the solid center of the comet.
Comet Sources
- "Comet Facts - Interesting Facts about Comets." 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
- "Comet Photography" WAITING FOR ISON. Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
- "Comets in Our Solar System." Comets in Our Solar System. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
Asteroids
- Asteroid- a celestial body made of rock and iron orbiting the sun
- An asteroid orbits the sun, so it's not often that one flies into our atmosphere. A meteor however, is only a meteor upon entering. If it survives the crash onto Earth, it is a meteorite.
- When an asteroid leaves the asteroid belt and comes within .3AU of Earth's orbit, it is considered a Near-Earth Asteroid.
- Tunguska, Siberia, 1908- an asteroid exploded overhead, knocking down 2000 square kilometers of trees, and killing 1000 reindeer, but no known people were harmed.
- This is a picture of the asteroid, Ida, and it's moon, Dactyl. This picture was taken by the space craft Galileo.
This article is written by Headline and Global News. A giant asteroid was found by a Russian astrophysicist. An astrophysicist is an astronomer who studies what celestial bodies do and how they do it. The asteroid, 2014 UR116, is said to get close to Earth every 3 years. Scientists have determined it does not get close enough to pose a threat.
Asteroid Sources
- "Asteroids: Kids." Solar System Exploration. NASA. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
- Coffey, Jerry. "What Is The Difference Between Asteroids and Meteorites." What Is The Difference Between Asteroids and Meteorites. 30 July 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
- "International Astronomical Union | IAU." Near Earth Asteroids. IAU, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
- Tenenbaum, David. "History of Asteroid Impacts." History of Asteroid Impacts. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.