General Knowledge - World Geography - Discussion

These are small like a planet orbiting around the Sun.

Although there can sometimes be a blurry line between categories the following definitions should help you understand the difference between comets and asteroids, why Halley's Comet is not a meteorite and more.

Comet:

A comet is a relatively small solar system body that orbits the Sun. When close enough to the Sun they display a visible coma (a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to solar radiation) and sometimes a tail.

Asteroid:

Asteroids are small solar system bodies that orbit the Sun. Made of rock and metal, they can also contain organic compounds. Asteroids are similar to comets but do not have a visible coma (fuzzy outline and tail) like comets do.

Meteoroid:

A meteoroid is a small rock or particle of debris in our solar system. They range in size from dust to around 10 metres in diameter (larger objects are usually referred to as asteroids).

Meteor.

A meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere is known as a meteor. If you've ever looked up at the sky at night and seen a streak of light or 'shooting star' what you are actually seeing is a meteor.

Meteorite:

A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth's atmosphere and colliding with the Earth's surface is known as a meteorite.

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disk of a planet and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet, but as small objects in the outer Solar System were discovered, their volatile-based surfaces were found to more closely resemble comets, and so were often distinguished from traditional asteroids. Thus the term asteroid has come increasingly to refer specifically to the small rocky and metallic bodies of the inner Solar System out to the orbit of Jupiter.

Name the asteroids?