17

Given an image or animation of a body in space, the learner identifies it as a comet when (and only when) it is a frozen body of ice, dust, and rock that orbits the Sun (visible tail near the Sun; no tail when far from the Sun).

grade level
5
frames
16
  1. 01What is a comet made of?
  2. 02Why does this comet have a visible tail?
  3. 03What kind of space object are we looking at?
  4. 04Is this dark object a comet?
  5. 05Which statement best describes this object?
  6. 06What is this object?
  7. 07Why is Vesta considered an asteroid and not a comet?
  8. 08What kind of object is Mars?
  9. 09Based on its glowing tail, what is this object?
  10. 10What is this rocky object?
  11. 11What kind of object is this?
  12. 12What is this object?
  13. 13What is this dark, icy object?
  14. 14What is this massive spherical object?
  15. 15What is this spectacular object?
  16. 16Identify this space object.

Let's learn about comets! A comet is a frozen body made of ice, dust, and rock that orbits the Sun. When a comet gets close to the Sun, its ice vaporizes and forms a beautiful glowing tail. However, if a comet is far from the Sun, it does not have a tail at all. It is still a comet, just a dark, frozen one!

This illustration shows the long elliptical orbit of a comet around the Sun. When you look near the Sun, you can see the comet has a bright glowing tail pointing away from the Sun. As you look far from the Sun, you will notice the comet is just a dark, icy nucleus with no tail visible at all.
This illustration shows the long elliptical orbit of a comet around the Sun. When you look near the Sun, you can see the comet has a bright glowing tail pointing away from the Sun. As you look far from the Sun, you will notice the comet is just a dark, icy nucleus with no tail visible at all.

Prompt

What is a comet made of?