Lecture 22 – Minor Solar System Objects, Part 2/2: Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, Comets
Summary / Checklist of the Main Concepts to Understand and Remember

Pluto and the Kuiper Belt  
red bullet How far is Pluto from the Sun on average, in AU? How and when was Pluto discovered?  
red bullet Have any spacecraft reached Pluto, or are there plans for such a mission?  
red bullet How wide is Pluto, compared to Earth? Why is it not considered a planet anymore, and what is it classified as instead?  
• What do we know about Pluto's appearance? Does Pluto have moons? How many?  
red bullet What is the Kuiper Belt? Where is it, and how did it form?  
• Which are the two largest known objects in the Kuiper Belt?  
     
Comets  
red bullet What are comets? Where do they come from, and what is the difference between them and asteroids?  
• How long have comets been known? Why was Tycho's observation of a comet in 1577 important?  
red bullet Why do comets develop tails? [Why can comets have two tails?] In which direction does a comet's tail point?  
• Have any comets hit Earth? Have any spacecraft fom Earth explored comets?  
red bullet Do comets come back periodically? What happens to them after many passes in the inner Solar System?  
• Why are comets interesting to astronomers?  
     
     

Topics from the lecture page and textbook not listed above [or between square brackets] were not covered in class;
Underlined words indicate that I will expect students to remember a number or a name related to that topic.

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