ASTEROID-COMET-METEOR-METEORITE-METEOROID

People generally get confused among these terms and don’t know the difference between them.

Asteroid, Comet, Meteor, Meteorite and Meteoroid

• Asteroid It is a rocky object that orbits the Sun. They are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids.

• Comet They are small icy dirtballs that orbit the Sun; comets are made of ice and dust while asteroids are made of rock).

• Meteor It is a space rock — or meteoroid — that enters Earth’s atmosphere, as it — burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, it creates a streak of light in the sky (often called “shooting stars”). When Earth encounters many meteoroids at once, we call it a meteor shower.

• Meteorite If a meteoroid survives its trip through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the Earth’s surface, it is called a meteorite.