meteoroids
Small celestial bodies
Meteoroids are small rocky or metallic bodies traveling through space, ranging from dust-sized particles to objects several meters across.
They're distinguished from larger asteroids mainly by size.
When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up, it creates a meteor—the streak of light commonly called a shooting star.
Any piece that survives to reach the ground becomes a meteorite.
Small solar orbiters
- cometsIcy bodies orbiting stars
- asteroid beltPlanetary rubble orbit zone
- Kuiper beltDistant ring of frozen objects
- solar systemStar and orbiting bodies
planetary · Mars · collisions · ejecta · protoplanetary · formation · primordial
Burning debris in atmosphere
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
- ionizationCharge acquisition process
- luminousEmitting or reflecting light
trail · streak · vaporization · friction · heating · glow · plasma
Element twenty-six
- silicatesSilicon-oxygen bonded minerals
- rockSolid earthen material
- metalHard conductive solid
- stony-ironMeteorite with both components
chondrite · carbonaceous · mineral · dust · debris · fragments · particles · grains
Study of cosmic organisms
- lifeAnimate state
- microorganismsMicroscopic living entities
- extremophilesOrganisms surviving extreme conditions
- organic moleculesCarbon-containing chemical structures
Curved celestial path
- velocityDirected rate of motion
- speedRate of motion
- pathRoute for traveling
- ellipticalOval-shaped or indirect
heliocentric · perihelion · aphelion · trajectory · gravitational · perturbation · radiant · stream
Impact or volcanic basin
- pittingForming small cavities
- damageHarm or impairment
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- spacecraftVehicle for outer space
shielding · erosion · bombardment · surface
August meteor shower
Radio-wave object detection
- telescopeInstrument magnifying faraway objects
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- surveySystematic data collection
monitoring · flux · population
asteroids
Small solar orbiters
- cometsIcy bodies orbiting stars
- asteroid beltPlanetary rubble orbit zone
- Kuiper beltDistant ring of frozen objects
solar system · planetary · Mars · collisions · ejecta · protoplanetary · formation · primordial
shooting star
Burning debris in atmosphere
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
- ionizationCharge acquisition process
luminous · trail · streak · vaporization · friction · heating · glow · plasma
iron
Element twenty-six
stony-iron · chondrite · carbonaceous · mineral · dust · debris · fragments · particles · grains · porous
astrobiology
Study of cosmic organisms
- lifeAnimate state
- microorganismsMicroscopic living entities
- extremophilesOrganisms surviving extreme conditions
orbit
Curved celestial path
elliptical · heliocentric · perihelion · aphelion · trajectory · gravitational · perturbation · radiant · stream · swarm
crater
Impact or volcanic basin
spacecraft · shielding · erosion · bombardment · surface
Perseids
August meteor shower
peak · debris trail · sporadic · stream
radar
Radio-wave object detection
- telescopeInstrument magnifying faraway objects
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- trackingMonitoring location over time
survey · monitoring · flux · population
- space rocksasteroid, asteroids, shooting stars, shooting star, falling stars
- astronomystars, moon, sun, planet, planets
- spacespace, sun, moon, stars, star
- Asteroidsasteroids, asteroid belt, near-Earth objects, Ceres, Vesta
- cometscomet, Halley's Comet, comet tail, Hale-Bopp, dirty snowball
- meteor showersPerseids, Geminids
meteoroidsplanets
Star-orbiting celestial bodies
stars · gas giants · moons · dwarf planets · Jupiter