Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

They say that when you make upon a shooting star it may come true! Did you know that the "shooting star" is actually not a star? These "shooting stars" are just fragments or meteorites and dust particles in the space that fall into the earth's atmosphere and burn up. The trail of light that the burning meteoroid produces is a meteor and if any part of the meteoroid hits the earth,that bit is called a meteorite.

Meteor showers, such as the one in the image above, occur when Earth passes through the debris of a comet as it orbits the Sun. The names of these showers derive from the constellation that is in the sky from where they originate. It is important to remember that meteoroids and meteors do not originate from constellations or stars. Comets are frozen leftovers, composed of dust, rock, and ices, from the formation of the solar system. Their size ranges from a couple of miles to tens of miles wide. As they orbit(high eccentric orbits)and approach near the sun, they heat up and a bright atmosphere around the comet's nucleus forms known as the coma. The comet forms two tails: one of dust and another of ionized molecules.

Comets are important to study to learn more about our solar system since they are small leftover bodies from the formation of the solar system. They are one of the first bodies to form in the solar nebula(the collapsed interstellar dust cloud where the planets and the Sun formed from). They are generally found farther than the orbit of Jupiter. Right before Jupiter lays the asteroid belt that separates Mars and Jupiter.

Asteroids are also known as "minor planets" that were from the early formation of our solar system. Their size varies from about 10 meters to 530 kilometers and their shape is nearly spherical and cratered. Many asteroids(about 150) are known to have small companion moons. The three types of asteroids are C-, S-, and M-types. C-types are the most common, dark in appearance, and made up of clay and silicate rocks. S-types are made up of silicate and nickel-iron. M-types are metallic and have different compositions depending on how far from the sun they have formed. Because of Jupiter's massive gravity and close encounters with Mars, some asteroids orbits are altered, knocking them out of the main asteroid belt into the orbit of other planets. Asteroids that have hit the Earth play a major role in Earth's geological history and evolution of life. Comets, meteors, and asteroids are celestial objects countless scientists and astronomers have studied over several decades. Even though they do not directly impact daily life, they help us learn about the evolution of our very own solar system.