Meteors Quiz

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space that is smaller than an asteroid.

A shooting star is the popular term for a meteor, which is the light phenomenon caused by a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed and vaporizing due to friction.

A meteorite is the remnant of a meteoroid that withstands the atmospheric entry and impacts the ground.

The high speed of a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere causes intense friction, which heats the object to incandescence, creating the visible streak of light.

The meteors are a result of streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories.

Stony meteorites, which are composed mostly of silicate minerals, make up the vast majority (about 95%) of meteorites that fall to Earth.

The intense heat and friction of a meteoroid's atmospheric entry cause the surrounding air and the meteoroid's own material to ionize, creating a glowing trail of plasma.

A bolide is a meteor that is bright enough to be seen over a wide area and often explodes in the atmosphere with a visible flash.

Ablation refers to the process where the outer layers of a meteoroid are vaporized and shed as it passes through the atmosphere due to intense heat and pressure.

A fusion crust is a thin, dark, glassy layer that forms on the surface of a meteorite as it is heated and melted during its high-speed passage through the atmosphere.