Other Members of the Solar System
There are other bodies in the Solar System besides the Sun, planets, and moons. Those other bodies include asteroids, meteors, Trans-Neptunian objects, and comets. In this interactivity, click on each of the tabs to learn more about the other members of the Solar System. Click the player to begin.
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Comets
Comets are sometimes named "dirty snowballs" because of their composition. Comets are basically balls of snow and ice. Click on the Next arrow in the lower right corner to learn about the anatomy of a comet. Click the player to begin.
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Comets are clouds of icy debris that come from beyond planet Earth. Comets have irregular orbits around the Sun and could easily collide with other objects in the Solar System. Astronomers believe that comets may have formed when the planets Uranus and Neptune were forced outside of their normal orbits into the Kuiper Belt. Once these planets entered the Kuiper Belt they would have forced rocks out of the belt and the rocks would begin their own orbit around the Sun.
Some rocks would become comets, but others would crash into planets in a period called the Late Heavy Bombardment. It is believed that these crashing comets may have even brought the essential amino acids needed to start life on Earth. To learn more about how comet formation and the Late Heavy Bombardment, view Comets Bombard the Early Earth from eMediaVA℠.
Other Members of the Solar System Review
Now that you have explored other objects in the solar system, check your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each question and select the appropriate answer. Then, click SUBMIT to check your response. Click the player to get started.