8

EARTH SCIENCE
Quarter 2 - Module 5
Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and
Meteor Showers

1
 What I Know (Pre-Test)
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write CAPITAL letter only.

1. What is a comet made of?

A. ice made from frozen gases, water, and dust C. fire and ice
B. moon dust D. ice and rocks

2. Which of the following has a coma, a nucleus and a tail?

A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteoroids

3. It is known as the shooting star.

A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteoroids

4. What do we call a piece of debris from the Solar System when it has reached the ground?
A. Meteor B. Meteorite C. Meteoroid D. Shooting Star

5. Most of the asteroids orbit the sun in a belt between the orbits of ___________.
A. Venus and Mars C. Mars and Jupiter
B. Mars and Earth D. Jupiter and Saturn

6. They are known as minor planets.

A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteoroids

7. Which of the following celestial bodies originate from Kuiper belt and Oort cloud?
A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. All of the above

8. They are burned up when they enter the Earth.

A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteoroids

9. They are rocky fragments leftovers from the beginning of our Solar system.
A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteoroids

10. We can observe meteor showers when Earth passes through trails of dust and small rocks left from
A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteoroids D. Meteorites

11. Which of the objects below orbit the sun?

A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Both A & B D. None of the above

12. Meteor showers are named after ___________.

A. Comets B. Constellations C. Meteorites D. Meteoroids

13. Which of these space objects is the largest asteroid in the solar system?
A. Ceres B. Eros C. Pallas D. Vesta

14. Which of the following statement is CORRECT about meteors?

A. It is a streak of light in the sky
B. They are called "shooting stars."
C. Meteors are not actually stars.
D. All of the above

15. What causes meteor showers?

A. Asteroids strike on comets.
B. Comets strike on meteors.
C. It occurs when dust or particles from asteroids or comets enter Earth's atmosphere at very high speed.
D. All of the above

2
 Lesson Characteristics of Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids
1

What’s New

Activity 1. Draw Me
Direction: Describe and draw the object in your answer sheets.
DRAWING DESCRIPTION
OBJECT
(Be creative and do it neatly) (Limit to 5 sentences only)

Comet

Asteroid

Meteor

Activity 2. I am Me
Direction: Choose from the list in the box below the characteristic that best describes each object.
Copy and write your answer in the table on your answer sheet.

Kuiper belt and Oort cloud Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Comets and Asteroids Smaller than comets or asteroids

Excluding the tail about the size of the mountain Rock

Ice, dust, small rocky particles Rock or dust

Typically less than 1 km; some are more than 300 km in diameter

CHARACTERISTICS COMETS METEORS ASTEROIDS

Origin
Size
Composition

What Is It
What's the Difference Between Asteroids, Comets and Meteors?
In our solar system there are billions, possibly trillions, of rogue objects orbiting the sun. These
spacefarers are too small to be called planets and are given the names of comets, asteroids, meteoroids,
and if they reach Earth, meteors or meteorites. With so many labels, it's easy to forget which is which.
.
Asteroids
An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they
are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids.
Asteroids are also called minor planets or “planetoids”. The largest asteroid was named Ceres,
which is nearly a quarter the size of Earth's moon (about 950 kilometers in diameter).
3
 Most asteroids look like giant space potatoes, with their oblong shapes and surface that's
pockmarked by numerous craters caused by collisions with other asteroids. Asteroids are composed of
dark, rocky clumps of rubble consisting of clay and silicate rocks. It is a solid combination of metals such as
iron or nickel, according to NASA.
Nearly all asteroids are found in a doughnut-shaped region between Mars and Jupiter, called
the asteroid belt. But they can also hang out in other locations around the solar system. For example,
some asteroids orbit the Sun in a path that takes them near Earth

Comets
Comets orbit the Sun, like asteroids. But comets are dirty space snowballs which are made of ice
and dust—not rock. As a comet’s orbit takes it toward the Sun, the ice and dust begin to vaporize. That
vaporized ice and dust become the comet’s tail. You can see a comet even when it is very far from Earth.
However, when you see a meteor, it’s in our atmosphere.

What's in the Heart of a Comet?

A comet's nucleus is like a dirty snowball made of ice. As the comet gets closer to the Sun, some
of the ice starts to melt and boil off, along with particles of dust. These particles and gases make a cloud
around the nucleus, called a coma. The coma is lit by the Sun. The sunlight also pushes this material into
the beautiful brightly lit tail of the comet.
The coma contains material from near the surface of the nucleus. This material is what the Sun
heats up most and what boils off first. Scientists saw what was in the coma right after the impact, and
compared that with what was there before the impact. This way, they could get an idea what was added
from the material blasted out of the hole in the nucleus.
The surface of the comet is very fragile and weak. Inside it is spongy, with lots of holes. It has ice
beneath its surface.
Parts of a Comet

Why do comets have tails?

Comet tails appear as the comet approaches the sun and can grow to be millions of miles long.
The particles in the solar wind push the small dust particles in the coma into a long curved path. This tail
is known as the dust tail. Another tail, the ion tail, is made of electrically charged molecules of gas. The
ion tail points directly away from the sun.

4
Where do comets come from?

Most comets come from the Kuiper Belt, a region

beyond the orbit of Neptune. Comets from this neighborhood
usually take 200 years or less to make one orbit around the sun.
These are called short-period comets.

Comets also come from their other hangout, the Oort

Cloud, a far-far-distant cloud of comets that surrounds the solar
system. Scientists think there could be about a trillion comets
orbiting way out there. One trip around the sun could take one of
these comets 30 million years! They are called long-period
comets.

What brings comets near Earth?

Sometimes the gravitational pull of a passing
star stirs up comets in the Oort Cloud. Some might get
sent flying into the inner solar system.
Sometimes the gravitational pull of a planet can
disturb comets in the Kuiper Belt and fling one
headlong toward the sun.
The sun's gravitational pull takes over, shaping
the comet's path into a lop-sided orbit. The comet is
pulled faster and faster toward the sun, it swings
around close to the back-side, then it heads out again
to more or less where it came from. Some comets dive
right into the sun, never to be seen again. When the
comet is in the inner solar system, either coming or
going, that's when we may see it in our skies.

Meteoroids, Meteors, Meteorites: 

Meteoroids are tiny asteroids or the broken-off crumbs of comets and sometimes planets. They
range in size from a grain of sand to boulders 3 feet (1 meter) wide. When meteoroids collide with a
planet's atmosphere, they become meteors. If those meteors survive the atmosphere and hit the planet's
surface, their remains are called meteorites. 

Meteors
If a meteoroid comes close enough to Earth and
enters Earth’s atmosphere, it vaporizes and turns into
a meteor: a streak of light in the sky. Because of their
appearance, these streaks of light are sometimes called
"shooting stars." But meteors are not actually stars.
Meteors can be “stony” made up of minerals rich in
silicon and oxygen. It consists of mainly of iron and nickel, or
“stony-iron”, a combination of the two.
The visible light produced by a meteor may take on
various colors, depending on the chemical composition of the
meteoroid, and the speed of its movement through the
atmosphere.
A color of meteors depends on the relative influence
of the metallic content of the meteoroid versus the super-
heated air plasma:
●Orange-yellow (sodium)
●Violet (calcium)
●Yellow (iron)
●Blue-green (magnesium)
●Red (atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen)

5
Meteoroids
Sometimes one asteroid can smash into another. This can cause small pieces of the asteroid to
break off. Those pieces are called meteoroids. Meteoroids can also come from comets.

Meteorites
Sometimes meteoroids don’t vaporize completely in the atmosphere. In fact, sometimes they
survive their trip through Earth’s atmosphere and land on the Earth’s surface. When they land on Earth,
they are called meteorites.

A scientist
investigates a
meteorite that
landed in Sudan's
Nubian Desert in
2008. Image
credit: NASA

What I Have Learned

Direction: Given the characteristics below, test yourself if you can differentiate the following.
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write CAPITAL letter only.
A. If it refers to Comets D. If it refers to both Asteroids and Comets
B. If it refers to Meteors E. If it refers to both Asteroids and Meteors
C. If it refers to Asteroids F. If it refers to both Comets and Meteors

Characteristics:
_____1. Orbit the Sun.
_____2. Known as falling stars or shooting stars.
_____3. Can grow to be millions of miles long
_____4. The result from the collision of meteoroids with a planet's atmosphere.
_____5. Comes from Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.
_____6. Rocky composition.
_____7. They glow as they enter earth’s atmosphere.
_____8. They are called “minor planets”.
_____9. A streak of light in the sky.
_____10. It’s color depends on the metallic content.
_____11. Lots of holes.
_____12. When they hit the planet's surface, their remains are called meteorites.
_____13. It consists of iron and nickel.
_____14. Icy object.
_____15. Mostly found between Mars and Jupiter.

What I Can Do
Activity 3. What happens when a comet or an asteroid hits Earth?

Materials Needed:
●any container (aluminium or plastic tray) ●flour (sprinkle it with coffee or cocoa)
●stone of different sizes ●ruler

Procedure:

6
1. Create the Earth’s surface in your tray. Fill it with 1 inches of flour and sprinkle it with coffee or cocoa
granules.
2. Make some comets/asteroids of various sizes out of stones you collected.
3. Drop it to hit the flour in the tray and observe its impact. Notice how much dust was created.
4. Use your ruler to measure the diameter of the crater.
5. Repeat your experiment a few times with stones of different sizes and weights from different heights.

Answer the following:

Q1. Which stone made the biggest craters?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q2. Which stone created the biggest clouds of dust?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q3. What do you think will happen to the plants and animals living in the area where the comet or asteroid
crashed?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson
Meteor Showers
2

What Is It

Meteor Shower

A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from
one point in the night sky. A meteor shower occurs when the Earth intersects a comet's path and moves
through the stream of debris and dust emitted by the comet. The meteors in a shower appear to originate
from one area of the sky called the radiant. The meteor shower is usually named after the constellation in
which the radiant lies. Meteor shower occurs at the same time each year. Common meteor shower results
in ten to fifty meteors per hour. Typically the best time to observe is in the early morning.
Meteor showers occur when dust or particles from asteroids or comets enter Earth's atmosphere
at very high speed. When they hit the atmosphere, meteors rub against air particles and create friction,
heating the meteors. The heat vaporizes most meteors, creating what we call shooting stars.
While there are stray bits of stuff hitting Earth from all directions, there also are regularly timed
"meteor showers" when astronomers can make better predictions about how many meteors will hit the
Earth, and from what direction. The key difference is that meteor showers occur when the Earth plows into
the trail of particles left behind by a comet or asteroid. Depending on where the trail of particles falls in a
particular year, meteor showers can be more or less intense.

What Causes a Meteor Shower?

Meteor showers occur when the earth in its orbit around the Sun passes through debris left over
from the disintegration of comets. Although the earth's orbit around the Sun is almost circular, most comets
travel in orbits that are highly elongated ellipses. As a result, some comets have orbits that intersect or
partially overlap the earth's path.

7
 Because a comet's nucleus is made up of a combination of icy materials and loosely consolidated
"dirt," when a comet is heated by passing close to the Sun, it more or less slowly disintegrates, producing
the visible tail. The rocky debris, consisting of mostly sand size particles, continues in an elongated orbit
around the Sun close to that of its parent comet. When the earth intersects this orbit in its annual trip, it can
run into this debris, which burns up on entry into the earth's atmosphere, producing a visible shower of
meteors.
Meteor showers associated with particular comet orbits occur at about the same time each year,
because it is at those points in the earth's orbit that the collisions occur. However, because some parts of
the comet's path are richer in debris than others, the strength of a meteor shower may vary from one year
to the next. Typically a meteor shower will be strongest when the earth crosses the comet's path shortly
after the parent comet has passed.
If it's time for a meteor shower, you won't need a telescope, binoculars, or a high mountain to have
a "star gazing" party. You might need a warm sleeping bag and an alarm clock to wake you in the middle of
the night. But then just lying down in your own back yard will put you in the perfect spot to enjoy a great
show.
Meteor showers are named for the constellation where the meteors appear to be coming from. So,
for example, the Orionids Meteor Shower, which occurs in October each year, appear to be originating near
the constellation Orion the Hunter.

Plan Ahead!
The table lists several of the major meteor showers each year. How well you can see each shower
will depend on your location, the phase of the Moon, and the weather. It is best to watch a meteor shower
in the dark of night and away from light pollution. Peak viewing times will vary by a day or two each year.
Some years are better than others for numbers of meteors per hour.
Meteor Shower Name Peak Dates
Quadrantids January 3 - 4
Lyrids April 21 - 22
Eta Aquarids July 27 - 28
Delta Aquarids May 5 - 6
Perseids August 12 - 13
Orionids October 21 - 22
Leonids November 17 - 18
Geminids December 13 - 14
Ursids December 21 - 22

What I Have Learned

TRUE or FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct; write FALSE if the statement is wrong.
__________ 1. If it's time for a meteor shower, you won't need a telescope, binoculars, or a high mountain
to have a "star gazing" party.
__________ 2. Meteor showers associated with particular comet orbits occur at different time each year.
__________ 3. The best time to observe a meteor shower is in the early morning.
__________ 4. meteor shower results in ten to fifty meteors per hour.
__________ 5. Meteor showers are named from group of stars.
__________ 6. Meteor shower occurs when the orbit of the Earth intersects the meteor’s orbit.
__________ 7. The Leonid meteors take place in December.
__________ 8. Meteor showers only occur at night.
__________ 9. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere and we call them shooting stars.
__________ 10. The key difference is that meteor showers occur when the Earth plows into the
trail of particles left behind by a meteor or meteoroid.
Assessment (Post-Test)
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write CAPITAL letter only.
1. Mary is looking forward to watching the Geminid meteor shower. Which would be the best time for her
to view the meteor shower?

8
A. dawn to noon C. midnight to dawn
B. noon to sunset D. sunrise to sunset

2. What is the name of the most visible meteor shower which occurs every August?
A. Geminids B. Leonids C. Perseids D. Eta Aquarids

3. Sam watches the Lyrid meteor shower in April. When is the next time he can watch the Lyrids?
A. In May. Meteor showers repeat every month.
B. In July. Meteor showers repeat each season.
C. Next April. Meteor showers repeat each year.
D. Never. Each meteor shower is a one-time event.

4. The orbits of most comets, which we see in the inner solar system
A. are nearly circular C. never come closer to the sun
B. are highly elliptical D. are only slightly inclined to the earth’s orbit

5. A meteorite is:
A. a rock from space that strikes the ground
B. a piece of rock passing through the earth’s atmosphere
C. the trail left by a piece rock as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere
D. all of the above

6. Meteor showers result from dust trails left by ______________.

A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Meteoroids

7. The following statement is TRUE about asteroids, except;

A. It is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun.
B. They have numerous craters.
D. They are larger than a planet.
D. They are found in a region between Mars and Jupiter.

8. What are meteor showers named after?

A. Roman gods.
B. The month which they occur in.
C. The constellation which they appear to be falling from.
D. The individual who discovered it.

9. What type of comets originates from the Oort cloud?

A. Short period comets C. Both A & B
B. Long period comets D. None of the above

10. What are the three parts of a comet?

A. The head, body, and tail C. The nucleus, protons, and electrons
B. The nucleus, coma, and tail D. The coma, body and tail

11. Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE about comets?

A. It is made of ice and dust when vaporized it become the comet’s tail.
B. A comet's nucleus is made of rocks.
C. Comet tails can grow to be millions of miles long.
D. The tail of the comet are made of dust and ions.
12. Which is TRUE about the tail of a comet?
A. Comet tails appear as the comet approaches the Earth.
B. The ion tail points towards from the sun.
C. The ion tail of a comet is made of electrically charged molecules of gas.

9
D. The dust tail of a comet is made of electrically charged molecules of gas.

13. What is the content of the meteor when it appears violet?

A. Sodium B. Calcium C. Iron D. Magnesium

14. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

A. All meteoroids survive their trip through Earth’s atmosphere and land on the Earth’s surface.
B. When meteoroids collide with a planet's atmosphere, they become meteorites.
C. Meteors are the result when asteroids break off into pieces.
D. If meteors hit the planet's surface, their remains are called meteorites.

For items 15-20, use the following key inside the box to evaluate the following statements.

A. If the 1st and 2nd underlined statements are TRUE.

B. If the 1st underlined statement is TRUE but the 2nd underlined statement is FALSE.
C. If the 1st and 2nd underlined statements are FALSE.
D. If the 1st underlined statement is FALSE but the 2nd underlined statement is TRUE.

15. Meteor shower occurs at the different time each year and
1st
it only occurs at night.
2nd

16. Most comets travel in orbits that are highly elongated ellipses and as our Earth orbit around the Sun
1st
and passes through debris left over from the disintegration of meteors, meteor shower occurs.
2nd

17. Most comets come from the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond the orbit of Neptune and
1st
these are called short-period comets.
2nd

18. A comet's nucleus is like a dirty snowball made with particles of dust and
1st
these particles and gases make a cloud around the nucleus, called a coma.
2nd

19. Comets, asteroids and meteors have rocky composition and

1st
they are a combination of metals such as iron or nickel, according to NASA.
2nd

20. Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than meteoroids and
1st
meteors are larger than meteoroids.
2nd

10