What do scientists hypothesize asteroids are?
Leftover pieces of the early solar system that never came together to form a planet
How do scientists classify small solar system objects?
Based on their sizes, shapes, compositions, and orbits
Where is Ceres found?
In the asteroid belt
Why do comets' tails glow?
They glow when the dust and gas heat up
What happens when a comet gets close to the sun?
The energy in sunlight turns ice into gas and releases gas and dust
What are two ways that meteoroids form?
Asteroids colliding; comets breaking up
What is a nucleus?
The solid, inner core of a comet
What are asteroids?
Rocky objects which are too small and numerous to be considered planets or dwarf planets. Most are not spherical.
What is a comet?
Loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles whose orbits can be very long, narrow ellipses; An Oakwood High School student
What are the five dwarf planets that had been discovered as of 2009?
Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea, and Ceres
What is a meteor?
When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, friction with the air creates heat and produces a streak of light; AKA shooting stars
What is the asteroid belt?
A region of the solar system between Mars and Jupiter
What happens when Earth passes through an area with many meteoroids?
Meteor showers
Why isn't Pluto a planet anymore?
Scientists discovered objects that were bigger than Pluto and farther from the sun than Pluto
What is a meteorite?
A meteoroid that has passed through the atmosphere and is found on Earth's surface
How are meteoroids different from asteroids?
They are less than 10 meters across while some asteroids are more than 3000 kilometers across
What is the Kuiper belt?
A region beyond Neptune's orbit which extends to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun
What is the Oort cloud?
A region beyond the Kuiper belt that stretches out more than 1,000 times the distance between the sun and Neptune
Which direction does a comet's gas tail point?
Away from the sun
What is a coma?
The fuzzy outer layer of a comet's head that is composed of gas and dust
When did scientists develop the category of dwarf planets?
2006
Where are all dwarf planets except Ceres found?
Beyond Neptune; In the Kuiper belt; Eris is beyond the Kuiper belt