Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

Learning about the difference between meteors, meteorites, and meteorites was already hard enough in elementary school, yet more space objects were added in the mix, confusing it even more! And don’t forget about the all-famous shooting star- what exactly are they anyway? Meteors or comets? While there are many objects in outer space with overlapping commonalities, they still have distinct features that will be outlined in this brief blog post.

Shooting Star

Landing on our first celestial body is quite difficult, practically speaking. The fairytale-esque shooting star is, in fact, a meteor. A meteor is what a space rock is referred to as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. It looks like a bright streak of light due to the meteor’s elements (i.e. iron, nickel, etc.) reacting with the oxygen in the atmosphere. The reaction with the oxygen is what results in the brief tail of the meteor that temporarily brightens up the night sky.

Meteoroid

A space rock is a meteoroid in outer space and a meteor in the atmosphere. But, meteoroids are not the same as asteroids. Although the both are essentially the same concept, an asteroid is significantly bigger than a meteoroid. To put it to scale, meteoroids are about the size of a pebble, while asteroids can range to be about the size of Pluto to the size of Mars.

Meteorites

A space rock falls into three categories, two of which have already been covered: the meteorite phase and the meteor phase. After a meteor travels through the Earth’s atmosphere, and, if it survives (doesn’t burn up in the atmosphere and stays intact by the time it reaches the surface), lands on the Earth’s surface, it is now referred to as a meteorite. Meteorites are extremely valuable to astronomers who study the ancient universe, since they tend to contain irreplaceable elements that act as clues for predicting what could have existed in the past.

Comets

Learning about the difference between meteors, meteorites, and meteorites was already hard enough in elementary school, yet more space objects were added in the mix, confusing it even more! And don’t forget about the all-famous shooting star- what exactly are they anyway? Meteors or comets? While there are many objects in outer s with overlapping commonalities, they still have distinct features that will be outlined in r. ’t Look Up to learn more about comets and their tails! Furthermore, a key distinction of a comet from an asteroid is the fact that asteroids generally originate from the Asteroid Belt in our solar system, while comets originate from the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud.

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Thank you for reaching the end of this blog! We hope you learned something new about space objects. Comment down below what you want to learn next! Also, follow us on Instagram @midnight___eclipse for more updates regarding future blog posts. As always, keep gazing skywards!

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Bibliography

Asteroid or Meteor: What’s the Difference? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids. (n.d.). https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/

Chintala, I. (2022, June 22). Special Edition Post: Don’t Look Up. Midnight Eclipse. https://mid-night-eclipse.wixsite.com/astronomyblog/post/special-edition-post-don-t-look-up

Comets. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/overview/?page=0

Howell, E. (2022, January 13). Halley’s Comet: Facts about history’s most famous comet. Space.com. https://www.space.com/19878-halleys-comet.html

Howell, E. (2022b, January 13). Halley’s Comet: Facts about history’s most famous comet. Space.com. https://www.space.com/19878-halleys-comet.html

Meteors & Meteorites. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/overview/?page=0