FSS - Asteroids, Comets, and Moons Lesson

 

Asteroids, Comets, and Moons

In addition to the sun and planets, our solar system also contains several other types of objects that can be classified according to properties and behaviors. Moons are objects that orbit the planets; every planet except Venus and Mercury has at least one moon.

Asteroids are numerous small, rocky bodies that are generally found in a ring, or "belt", circling the sun between Mars and Jupiter.  Several hundred thousand have been described and catalogued, and many smaller ones have yet to be detected.   If we took all of the known asteroids and packed them together, the resulting planet would still be smaller than the Earth's moon.

Comets are relatively small celestial bodies that have extremely elliptical orbits.   Most have orbits that carry them far out of the solar system, and then back in to pass close near the sun.   Composed mainly of rock and ice, comets are often affected by the energy from the sun as they pass close by, causing them to produce "tails" of reflective material being blown into space.

Watch this video to learn more.

 

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