Comets, Asteroids, Meteorites

Space is a rocky place.

Comets are bits of ice that orbit the Sun. As they travel close to the Sun, their ice melts and becomes gas that trails behind them.

Asteroids are bits of rock that live in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Other large planets help to protect Earth from asteroids/comets because their large gravitational field pulls these objects towards them. This makes it less likely an asteroid or comet will hit the Earth.

When asteroids or comets collide, pieces of rock chip off and become meteoroids.  These rock chunks orbit in space.  At times, they pass close to Earth.  Meteors burn up in the atmosphere.  The meteors that hit Earth are called meteorites.

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To learn more about asteroids, go to this website.

To learn more about comets and meteors, go to this website.