Why do asteroids and meteors differ?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Asteroids are space rocks, while meteors are the streaks of light they make in the air
Meteors are hotter because they burn up before they reach the ground — Wrong. Meteors appear bright because they're burning up in our atmosphere, but that's a result of entry, not an inherent property.
Asteroids and meteors have different chemical compositions — Wrong. Both can be made of similar materials (rock, metal, ice). The terms describe location and state, not chemical makeup. The same object could be an asteroid in space and a meteor when entering atmosphere.
Asteroids are space rocks, while meteors are the streaks of light they make in the air ✓ — Correct! Asteroids are large rocky objects orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter. Meteors are the light streaks when space debris burns in Earth's atmosphere. The same rock could be called different names depending on where it is!
More Astronomy & Space questions
- Which gas escapes fastest from Earth's atmosphere as it slowly leaks to space?
- Why is Earth's day getting slightly longer every century?
- Why was Earth's day stuck at 19.5 hours for 1.5 billion years?
- Why might using several small reactors be better than one giant reactor on the Moon?
- Why is fission likelier than fusion for first Moon bases?
- Why put a lunar reactor away from the habitat?