SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Little chunks of rock and debris in space are called meteoroids. They become meteors–or shooting stars–when they fall through a planet’s atmosphere; leaving a bright trail as they are heated to incandescence by the friction of the atmosphere.

Detailed explanation-2: -Asteroid. A celestial body bigger than 10 m orbiting the Sun, mainly between Mars and Jupiter. Meteoroid. Similar to an asteroid, but significantly smaller. Mostly debris of comets, sometimes debris of asteroids.

Detailed explanation-3: -Meteoroids are what we call “space rocks” that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. This term only applies when they’re in space.

Detailed explanation-4: -Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. Think of them as “space rocks.” When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.

Detailed explanation-5: -Meteorites are space rocks that fall to Earth’s surface. Meteorites are the last stage in the existence of these type of space rocks. Before they were meteorites, the rocks were meteors. Before they were meteors, they were meteoroids. Meteoroids are lumps of rock or metal that orbit the sun.

Detailed explanation-6: -Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

Detailed explanation-7: -Space debris encompasses both natural meteoroid and artificial (human-made) orbital debris. Meteoroids are in orbit about the sun, while most artificial debris is in orbit about the Earth (hence the term “orbital” debris).