What is the most basic difference between asteroids, meteors and comets? I want a simple reply and nothing too scientific.
-
If you are a stickler for precision, then:
In astronomy, a "meteor" is the streak of light that is seen in the sky, when an object enters the atmosphere. By extension, we use the word to talk about the object causing the streak of light, but the pure sense of the word is the light itself.
In meteorology (note the root of the word), a meteor is any "thing" that you see high in the atmosphere. It includes clouds, rain, snow, etc. The study of how these things behave forces you to study winds and air masses and fronts...
The word meteor comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "high up". At the time, the heavens (what we now call space) was thought to be perfect and unchanging, except for the seven "aster planetes" (stars that move). Therefore, whenever you saw something appear in an unexplained manner, it had to be in the air not in space.
Asteroid is a term that was invented in the middle of the 1800s (around 1860). Four "planets" had been discovered between Mars and Jupiter (they were Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta). Unlike the regular "planets", they did not show disks in the telescopes of the days. They looks like points of light, just like stars. The word "asteroid" was created = "looks like a star" along with "planetary" = looks like a planet (which is why we can see a "planetary nebula" that has nothing to do with planets).
The word "asteroid" was used for the minor planets (the new class that was invented at the same time, when the four lost their planet status), as long as they did not show a disk. Nowadays, the word can only be used for minor planets that do not orbit beyond Saturn.
There is an unofficial minimum cutoff of 5 metres (roughly 16 feet across) because an object that small would not survive falling through the atmosphere.
In astronomy, a "meteor" is the streak of light that is seen in the sky, when an object enters the atmosphere. By extension, we use the word to talk about the object causing the streak of light, but the pure sense of the word is the light itself.
In meteorology (note the root of the word), a meteor is any "thing" that you see high in the atmosphere. It includes clouds, rain, snow, etc. The study of how these things behave forces you to study winds and air masses and fronts...
The word meteor comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "high up". At the time, the heavens (what we now call space) was thought to be perfect and unchanging, except for the seven "aster planetes" (stars that move). Therefore, whenever you saw something appear in an unexplained manner, it had to be in the air not in space.
Asteroid is a term that was invented in the middle of the 1800s (around 1860). Four "planets" had been discovered between Mars and Jupiter (they were Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta). Unlike the regular "planets", they did not show disks in the telescopes of the days. They looks like points of light, just like stars. The word "asteroid" was created = "looks like a star" along with "planetary" = looks like a planet (which is why we can see a "planetary nebula" that has nothing to do with planets).
The word "asteroid" was used for the minor planets (the new class that was invented at the same time, when the four lost their planet status), as long as they did not show a disk. Nowadays, the word can only be used for minor planets that do not orbit beyond Saturn.
There is an unofficial minimum cutoff of 5 metres (roughly 16 feet across) because an object that small would not survive falling through the atmosphere.
keywords: Asteroids,amp,Comets,Meteors,Asteroids, Meteors & Comets