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Deep Impact Questions

Created for the Deep Impact Mission, A NASA Discovery Mission
Maura Rountree-Brown and Art Hammon
Student - Inquiry
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These are the questions that Elicit #1 "What are your ideas about comets?" has brought. You can use these questions for discussion or as an evaluation tool with your students.

  • Where do comets come from?
  • What are comets made of?
  • How do they get from their origin to near Earth?
  • What is inside them?
  • Where are they now?
  • How do you tell the difference between a comet and a shooting star?
  • How many are there?
  • What is the tail made of?
  • Do they all travel the same direction?
  • What makes them fly?
  • Are they hot and burning?
  • Is the tail dangerous?
  • What is the life span for a comet?
  • Is a comet a ball of gas?
  • Is it ice?
  • Is it a rock?
  • Is it a ball of fire?
  • Is it like a shooting star?
  • What activates comets?
  • Why was Halley's Comet so popular?
  • Can they be re-routed?
  • How close do they come to Earth?
  • Do they have a head and a tail?
  • Are they from deep in outer space?
  • Are they from the black hole?
  • What is "periodic"?
  • What keeps them going? Do they have something like a jetpack?
  • Why are new ones discovered?
  • How do you distinguish one comet from another?

For additional facts about comets, look in Science and Mission Results.

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