Asteroids, comets, and meteors are all considered space debris. Most people know very little about them. Asteroids are chunks of rock and metal that orbit the sun. They are pretty small. The total mass of all the asteroids in the solar system is less than the mass of the moon. Many asteroids can be found in the asteroid belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter.
Comets are very much like asteroids. They are chunks of dirty ice and dust that orbit the sun. Their orbits are oval shaped. Comets die slowly. Each time a comet passes close to the sun, some of it burns away. Eventually, there is nothing left.
Unlike comets and asteroids, meteors do not orbit the sun. They are chunks of rock or dust that burn up when they come into the atmosphere. They enter the atmosphere as Earth goes around the sun. When meteors hit the surface of a planet they make craters, or holes, in the surface. Some meteors are so big that it they hit Earth, people would fall unconscious for miles around!