Which shows a comet, meteorite, and meteor in order from smallest to largest?
In order from smallest to largest:
1. Meteor: A meteor refers to the streak of light produced when a small piece of rocky or metallic material enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up due to friction. It is typically very small, ranging from the size of a grain of sand to a few meters in diameter.
2. Meteorite: A meteorite is a solid object that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands on Earth's surface. It originates from a meteoroid (a smaller object in space) that has managed to survive the atmospheric entry. Meteorites can range in size from small pebbles to massive boulders weighing several tons.
3. Comet: A comet is a celestial object consisting of a nucleus (a solid icy core) surrounded by a coma (a diffuse cloud of gas and dust) and frequently exhibiting a tail when close to the Sun. Comets are much larger than meteors and meteorites, with a nucleus typically measuring a few kilometers in diameter.
Comets, meteoroids, and meteorites all refer to celestial objects associated with space. However, their sizes can vary significantly. Here is the order from smallest to largest:
1. Meteoroid: This is the smallest object in the sequence. A meteoroid refers to a small piece of debris, typically from a comet or asteroid, that is traveling through space.
2. Meteor: When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up due to friction, it creates a bright streak of light called a meteor or a shooting star. Meteors are relatively small in size.
3. Comet: Comets are larger than meteoroids and meteors. They are made up of ice, rock, and other organic compounds. Comets often have a bright, glowing coma (a cloud of gas and dust) surrounding a solid nucleus. When a comet approaches the Sun, it heats up and releases gas and dust, creating a glowing tail that can be observed from Earth.
To summarize, the order from smallest to largest is: Meteoroid, Meteor, Comet.
To determine the order of the three objects from smallest to largest, we need to understand the differences between a comet, a meteorite, and a meteor. Here's an explanation of each:
1. Comet: A comet is a celestial object composed of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. When a comet comes close to the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a glowing coma (a cloud of gas and dust) around the nucleus. The nucleus is the solid core of the comet, typically measuring several kilometers in diameter.
2. Meteor: A meteor, also known as a shooting star, is a small particle from space, such as a fragment of an asteroid or a comet, that enters Earth's atmosphere. As it travels through the atmosphere, it experiences intense heat caused by friction, vaporizing and creating a streak of light. Most meteors burn up entirely in the atmosphere, and only a few larger fragments manage to reach the Earth's surface.
3. Meteorite: A meteorite is a surviving fragment of a meteor that has reached the Earth's surface. It typically comes from the asteroid belt or the remains of comets. Meteorites can vary in size, ranging from small pebbles to large boulders or even massive objects.
Based on this information, we can rank them from smallest to largest as follows:
1. Meteor: Since meteors burn up in the atmosphere, they are typically smaller in size compared to comet nuclei and meteorites.
2. Comet: The size of a comet nucleus can vary, but on average, it is larger than a meteor but smaller than a meteorite.
3. Meteorite: A meteorite is the largest of the three since it is composed of surviving fragments that have reached Earth's surface.
Therefore, the correct order from smallest to largest is: Meteor, Comet, Meteorite.