answersLogoWhite

0

An asteroid is a ball of rock that stays in space. If an asteroid burns up in the atmosphere as it heads towards Earth it is called a meteor. If it actually stays intact and impacts with the ground it is a meteorite.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What layer of the atmosphere protects Earth's surface from being hit by asteroids?

The entire atmosphere will burn up small asteroids (meteors), but larger ones will strike the Earth. This is how the Caribbean Sea was created.


What do meteoroids and asteroids have in common?

Both meteoroid's and comets are made out of rock and burn up when getting into earths atmosphere.


Are shooting stars asteroids?

Sometimes. We call them "asteroids" when we see them floating in space. Occasionally, one of them (or a piece of one) will collide with the Earth's atmosphere, and it will burn up as a meteor.


When small pieces of rock moving through space enter earths atmosphere and burn up they're called?

When small pieces of rock moving through space enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up, they are called meteoroids.


What prevents most asteroids comets and meteoroids from colliding with the earth?

Hopefully, they burn up on entering our atmosphere, due to friction with the air.


Does meteor and asteroids look alike?

No. meteors are the bits of dust and stone that burn up on entering Earth's atmosphere. Asteroids are larger rocky lumps floating round in space. We hope the larger ones do not meet Earth's atmosphere.


What protects earth from asteriods?

The atmosphere. Because asteroids are travelling very fast - friction caused when they enter the atmosphere, causes them to heat up to the point that they literally start melting. The vast majority of asteroids burn up in the atmosphere. Only a tiny percentage are actually large enough to make it through and crash-land on the earth.


What happens to asteroids when they enter the earths atmosphere?

When asteroids enter Earth's atmosphere, they start to burn up due to friction with air molecules. This causes them to create a bright streak known as a meteor or shooting star. If they are large enough to survive the entry, they may impact the ground as meteorites.


What is bigger meteor or asteroid?

Meteors are smaller fragments of asteroids or comets that enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up, causing a bright streak of light. Asteroids are larger rocky objects that orbit the sun. In general, asteroids are bigger than meteors.


What is the relationship between the number of craters and the thickness of a planet's atmosphere?

The thinner the atmosphere, the more craters the planet has. Planets with thicker atmospheres burn up most asteroids before they hit the ground.


What are small extraterrestrial particles that glow brightly and burn up as they travel through earths atmosphere is it asteroids or microcomets or mesocoronas or meteoroids?

That's a description of meteoroids.


What is bigger meteor or comet?

Usually, a comet.Meteors are usually the dust trails of comets or bigger meteorites/asteroids that burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. They are about the size of grains of sand.