Small Bodies In Space Practice Quiz

Comets are celestial objects made up of a combination of ice, gas, rock, and dust. The ice in comets is primarily composed of frozen water, along with other volatile compounds such as carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. As a comet approaches the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a glowing coma or tail. The gas released from the vaporized ice carries along with it dust particles and small rocks, which form the solid core or nucleus of the comet. Therefore, the correct answer is ice, gas, rock, and dust.

Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet because it does not meet the criteria to be considered a full-sized planet. It is smaller than the eight planets in our solar system and does not have a clear path around the sun. Additionally, Pluto is located in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune that is populated by many similar small objects. While it was once considered the ninth planet, its reclassification as a dwarf planet was due to a redefinition of what constitutes a planet.

Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter. This region is known as the asteroid belt, which is a collection of small rocky objects orbiting the Sun. The gravitational influence of Jupiter prevented the formation of a planet in this region, causing the debris to accumulate and form asteroids instead.

Comets have elliptical orbits. This means that their paths around the sun are not perfectly circular, but rather elongated and stretched out. As a comet gets closer to the sun, it speeds up and its orbit becomes more elliptical. This causes the comet to experience different levels of heat and gravitational pull throughout its journey, resulting in its characteristic tail and periodic appearances in the night sky.

Asteroids are rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun. They are composed primarily of rock and metal, such as iron and nickel. This composition is determined through the analysis of meteorites that have fallen to Earth from asteroids. The presence of ice, dust, and gas is more commonly associated with comets rather than asteroids. Therefore, the correct answer is rock and metal.

A comet gets a tail when it gets closer to the sun. As a comet approaches the sun, the heat causes the ice and other volatile substances on its surface to vaporize. This vaporization creates a glowing coma around the comet's nucleus, and the solar wind pushes the released gas and dust particles away from the nucleus, forming a tail that points away from the sun. The tail becomes more visible and elongated as the comet gets closer to the sun.

A comet's tail always points away from the sun because of the solar wind. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun, and it pushes the gas and dust in the comet's tail away from the sun, creating the tail. Therefore, the tail is always directed in the opposite direction of the sun.

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic object that is in space. It is smaller than an asteroid and usually originates from a comet or asteroid belt. When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteor, commonly known as a shooting star. If the meteor survives the journey through the atmosphere and lands on the Earth's surface, it is then called a meteorite. Therefore, the correct answer is meteoroid.

This is a picture of meteors. Meteors are small celestial bodies that enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up, creating a streak of light in the sky. They are often referred to as shooting stars. The image likely captures the moment when meteors are visible as bright streaks against the dark background of the night sky.

A meteor is the correct answer because it is a small celestial body that enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up, creating a streak of light in the sky. Meteoroids are similar but refer to the actual object before it enters the atmosphere. Meteoridis and meteorite are not accurate terms and do not describe objects that burn up in the atmosphere.

The difference between an asteroid and a meteoroid is primarily in their size. Asteroids are larger celestial bodies that orbit the Sun, while meteoroids are smaller fragments of asteroids or comets that travel through space. The other options, such as location, composition, and color, do not necessarily differentiate between the two.

Comets are believed to come from two main sources: the Oort cloud and the Kuiper belt. The Oort cloud is a hypothetical cloud of icy objects located far beyond the orbit of Neptune, while the Kuiper belt is a region of the solar system beyond Neptune's orbit that is populated with small icy bodies. These two regions are considered the primary sources of comets, as they contain a large number of icy objects that can be gravitationally disturbed and sent into the inner solar system, where they become visible as comets.

Comets have two main types of tails: the ion tail and the dust tail. The ion tail is composed of charged particles that are affected by the solar wind, causing it to point away from the Sun. The dust tail, on the other hand, is made up of larger particles such as dust and rocks that are blown away from the comet's nucleus by radiation pressure and solar wind. These tails can be seen as the comet gets closer to the Sun and the heat causes the ice to vaporize and release particles, creating a glowing trail behind the comet.

Dwarf planets differ from planets in two main ways. Firstly, they have less mass than planets. This means that they are smaller and have less gravitational pull. Secondly, dwarf planets have not cleared their neighborhood, which means that they share their orbit with other objects of similar size. This is in contrast to planets, which have cleared their neighborhood by gravitationally dominating their orbit and removing any other objects. The statements about being colder and located in the asteroid belt are not accurate distinctions between dwarf planets and planets.