Stars, Comets, Meteoroids and Asteroids

The other day, I wondered about the differences of stars, comets, meteoroids and asteroids.  It can never register in my brain, which I suspect is the size of a peanut.  No matter how many times I have read it from the boys' astrology encyclopedia, or watched space documentaries, I can never tell their differences.

At dinner, Johann was telling his daddy about wishing upon a shooting star.  That sparkled a discussion.  I asked Christophe the differences.  The boys were too eager to answer my questions, but I didn't get it, any of it, mainly because all were talking at the same time and I couldn't decide who to listen to first.

We made one talk at a time, while others listened in.  Christophe then expanded on what they said.  Eventually, I got a very rough idea what a star, a comet, a meteoroid and an asteroid is.  Their characteristics and how they were formed.  Now, when I said rough idea, it certainly wasn't because their explanations weren't detailed enough.  In fact, it was way too much for me.  How to fill up the glass when the glass is already full?  It was information overload.  I felt my pea-sized brain swell with discomfort, and blurted out, "eeh... I still don't get it."


They all looked at me in disbelief.  I could tell they were all, but one, trying to be polite and were withholding their OMG expressions.  I thought that was so sympathetic of them!  I am degenerating.  Bleh...

"Mummy, you are like Penny... he he he...", said the unbenign one.  The next moment, everyone laughed (at me), including my dear husband!  More blehs... Go watch The Big Bang Theory, and you would know why.

So, since it is beyond me to roughly explain the differences, I plucked out the definitions from dictionary.com.

Stars
noun

1.

any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.

2.

Astronomy. any of the large, self-luminous, heavenly bodies,as the sun, Polaris, etc.

Comets
noun Astronomy.

a celestial body moving about the sun, usually in a highly eccentric orbit, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun.

Meteoroids
noun Astronomy .

any of the small bodies, often remnants of comets, traveling through space: when such a body enters the earth's atmosphere it is heated to luminosity and becomes a meteor.

Asteroids

noun

1.

Also called minor planet. Astronomy. any of the thousands of small bodies of from 480 miles (775 km) to less than one mile (1.6 km) in diameter that revolve about the sun in orbits lying mostly between those of Mars and Jupiter.

Confused?  If not, good for you!  If so, you are not alone!