Target 5

Compare and contrast the composition of comets and

asteroids with Earth

Comets are primarily made up of three things:

• Dust

• Ice

• Gas

As a Result, Comets are Not Very Dense and Tend to burn up in our atmosphere

Halley’s Comet

Asteroids are primarily made up of only:

• Rock

As a Result, Asteroids are Dense and can reach the Earth’s surface.

Asteroids

Target 6

Identify the similarities and differences between the orbits of comets, asteroids and the Earth

• Comets orbit around the sun in an elliptical fashion. This “slingshot” orbit is a result of comets lack of density (more affected by gravitational pulls)

• Due to their composition, Comets will develop tails the closer the get to the sun.

• These tails are a result of the burning streak of ice, dust and gas from the sun’s energy

Comets A comet is a “dirty snowball” about the size of an earth mountain. (dirt and ice)Comets’ orbits are usually very long, narrow ellipses. They produce tails of gas and dust when they approach the sun.

• Asteroids have a more spherical orbit. Because of their density, they are less affected by the gravitational effects of the sun.

• An Asteroid Belt occurs when a group of asteroids can be found orbiting relatively close together.

• One belt is located between Mars and Jupiter, while another is located between Neptune and the outer edge of our solar system

The PERFECT Orbit!