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What's the Difference Between\h
Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors?

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We Asked a NASA Scientist.

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Well, they're all planetary objects orbiting\h
the Sun. An asteroid is a small, rocky object

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and when seen in a telescope, it appears as\h
a point of light. Most asteroids are found

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in a ring between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter\h
called the asteroid belt. Some asteroids are round,

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some are elongated, and some even have a satellite.\h
A comet also orbits the Sun, but unlike an asteroid,

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it's composed of ice and dust. So, when a comet\h
gets close to the Sun, its ice and dust content

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start to vaporize. So, when seen in a telescope, a comet\h
appears fuzzy and/or has a tail. So, what's a meteor?

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Well, let's start with a meteoroid. A meteoroid is\h
a small piece of asteroid or a comet, typically pebble-sized,

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but could be a little smaller or a little\h
larger, and often created from a collision.

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When a meteoroid gets close to the Earth and enters\h
the Earth's atmosphere, it's called a meteor.

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And a meteor enters the Earth's atmosphere at a\h
very high speed. So it burns up and produces a

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streak of light called a shooting star. So, if\h
you have seen a shooting star, you likely saw a meteor.

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And if a meteor survives the burn and\h
lands on the ground, it's called a meteorite.

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So, what's the difference between asteroids,\h
comets, and meteors? Well, asteroids are rocky,

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comets are icy, and meteors are much smaller and\h
are the shooting stars that you see up in the sky.