What are the main differences between comets and asteroids?

What are the main differences between comets and asteroids?

• A. Comets are icy bodies with tails near the Sun; asteroids are rocky/metallic; comets originate from the outer solar system, while most asteroids reside in the asteroid belt.
• B. Asteroids are icy while comets are rocky; both originate from the inner solar system.
• C. Comets and asteroids are identical except color; comets are smaller.
• D. Asteroids have tails from sunlight; comets do not.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that comets and asteroids differ in what they’re made of, how they behave near the Sun, and where they originate. Comets are icy bodies that heat up as they approach the Sun, and the heat causes ices to sublimate into gas and dust. This outgassing forms a glowing coma and long tails that always point away from the Sun due to solar wind and radiation pressure. Most comets come from the outer solar system, in regions like the Kuiper belt or the distant Oort cloud. Asteroids, on the other hand, are primarily rocky or metallic and contain little to no ice, so they don’t develop comas or tails. They are mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where they orbit the Sun in relatively solid, non-volatile material. So the correct description highlights the icy, active nature of comets with tails near the Sun and their outer-solar-system origins, contrasted with rocky/metallic asteroids that reside mainly in the asteroid belt.

The main idea here is that comets and asteroids differ in what they’re made of, how they behave near the Sun, and where they originate. Comets are icy bodies that heat up as they approach the Sun, and the heat causes ices to sublimate into gas and dust. This outgassing forms a glowing coma and long tails that always point away from the Sun due to solar wind and radiation pressure. Most comets come from the outer solar system, in regions like the Kuiper belt or the distant Oort cloud. Asteroids, on the other hand, are primarily rocky or metallic and contain little to no ice, so they don’t develop comas or tails. They are mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where they orbit the Sun in relatively solid, non-volatile material. So the correct description highlights the icy, active nature of comets with tails near the Sun and their outer-solar-system origins, contrasted with rocky/metallic asteroids that reside mainly in the asteroid belt.