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minor planets an asteroid asteroid "starlike" head a main part of a comet; consisting of a nucleus and coma tail the long steamer behind the head of a comet nucleus contains most of the material in a comet; made of rocks, dust, and frozen materials coma the spherical region of glowing gas which surrounds the nucleus of a comet ices frozen materials such as methane, ammonia, and water found in the heads of comets type 1 tail made of mainly gas and it's pushed away from the sun by the solar wind; forms quickly and is almost straight type 2 tail made mainly of dust and it's pushed away from the sun by the pressure of sunlight; forms slowly and is curved periodic comet a comet that keeps returning because of an elliptical orbit meteoroid when a particle in space orbits the sun meteor when the particle in space comes into the atmosphere fireball an extraspectacular meteor seen over a wide area bolide an exploding fireball train a lighted trail from a fireball meteorite fireballs that fall to earth sporadic meteor a meteor that comes from random directions and fall at any time shower meteor when the earth arrives at a meteor belt during its orbit; some of the meteoroids in that orbit fall to earth Perseids August 12 shower meteors Leonids November 17 meteors strewn field the area where meteorite fragments from an exploded fireball stones also called stiny meteorites; contains 85 -90% stony materials irons meteorites containing 85-90% iron stony-irons meteorites that are half silicate, half iron comet a relatively small, icy body; has an eccentric orbit