Asteroids, meteors and comets

Asteroids are ancient space rubble, left over from when the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. NASA has identified 1,113,527 of them orbiting the Sun, some just a few metres across, others miles wide. Comets also orbit the Sun but they are made of ice and dirt. When they warm up they release dust and gas, which creates a “tail” behind them. Smaller pieces that break off asteroids and comets are called meteoroids. If they enter the Earth’s atmosphere they burn up, making a streak of light called a meteor or shooting star. If they actually land on Earth they are meteorites.…

You're reading a preview of

The Week Junior (Digital) - 1 Issue, 356

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.