What's the difference between a comet, asteroid, meteoroid, meteor and meteorite?

Read on and find out!

A comet is a relatively small solar system body that orbits the Sun. When close enough to the Sun they display a visible coma (a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to solar radiation) and sometimes a tail.

A asteroid is a small solar system body that orbit the Sun. Made of rock and metal, it can also contain organic compounds. Asteroids are similar to comets but do not have a visible coma (fuzzy outline and tail) like comets do.

A meteoroid is a small rock or particle of debris in our solar system. They range in size from dust to around 10 metres in diameter (larger objects are usually referred to as asteroids).

A meteor is a meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. If you’ve ever looked up at the sky at night and seen a streak of light or ‘shooting star’ what you are actually seeing is a meteor.

A meteorite is a meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth’s atmosphere and colliding with the Earth’s surface.