Comets

1. What are comets like when they are far from the Sun? What happens when they enter the inner solar system?

2. Where in the solar system do most comets reside?

3. Describe the various parts of a comet while it is near the Sun.

4. What are the typical ingredients of a comet nucleus?

5. How do we know what comets are made of?

6. What are some possible fates of comets?

7. Describe two ways in which a comet's orbit may change.

8. In what ways is the Kuiper belt similar to the asteroid belt, and in what ways do they differ?

9. What causes a meteor shower?

10. What do meteorites reveal about the age of the solar system?

11. Why can comets approach the Sun from any direction, but asteroids generally orbit close to the plane of the ecliptic?

12. Explain the difference between a meteor, a meteoroid, and a meteorite.

13. Why do meteorites contain information about the early solar system, yet the Earth does not?