QUIZ - 3.14.13

1. Why is there an asteroid belt?
• There is an asteroid belt because asteroids are rocky leftovers from the era of planet formation. Orbital resonances with Jupiter prevented rocky planetesimals between Jupiter and Mars from forming a planet.
2. How are meteorites related to asteroids?
• Meteorites are related to asteroids because most meteorites are pieces of asteroids. Primitive meteorites are remnants from solar nebula. Processed meteorites are fragments of larger bodies that underwent differentiation.
3. How do comets get their tails?
• Comets are like dirty snowballs. Most of them are far from the Sun and do not have tails. Their tails grow when comet nears the Sun and nucleus heats up. 
4. Where do comets come from?
• Comets, in plane of solar system, come from Kuiper's Belt. Comets on random orbits come from Oort Cloud. 
5. How big can a comet be?
• A comet can be as big as Pluto; the Kuiper Belt (from which comets come) contains very large objects. Pluto and other "dwarf planets" are more like large comets than like major planets.
6. What are Pluto and other large objects of the Kuiper belt like?
• Pluto and other large objects in the Kuiper belt have tilted, elliptical orbits and icy compositions like those of comets.
7. Can a meteorite hit Earth?
• YES!
8. Name a few comets.
• Comet Halley
• Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
• Comet Hale Bopp
• Comet Swift-Tuttle
• Comet Hyakutake
9. What is comet PANSTARRS?
• Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS is a non-periodic comet discovered in June of 2011, which is expected to be visible to the naked eye when it is near perihelion in March of 2013. The comet was discovered using the Pan-STARRS telescope located near the summit of Haleakala, on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
10. Was the meteorite in Russia last month previously an asteroid?
• The meteorite in Russia, that hit last month, was NOT previously an asteroid.