What are meteoroids?

• A. Dust grains from comets
• B. Large rocks near planets
• C. Small rocks in space
• D. Icy fragments from moons

Answer: (C)

Meteoroids are small rocky or metallic bodies traveling through space. They can range from tiny grains of sand up to objects about a meter across. They come from events like collisions between asteroids or debris shed by comets. When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it burns up and is seen as a meteor (a shooting star). If any piece survives the journey to the surface, that fragment is called a meteorite. So, the idea of meteoroids being small rocks floating in space is the best description. The other options describe things that are typically not meteoroids: dust grains from comets are smaller than the common meteoroid size range; large rocks near planets are usually asteroids or other bodies, not meteoroids; icy fragments from moons are moon ejecta and not the general category of meteoroids.