Jeanne Nelson, Age 13, Of Flushing, N.Y., for her question:

How does a comet differ from a meteor?

In times gone by, the word meteor was used for any flashy event in the sky. Fireballs and falling stars, the auroras and passing comets and even the lightning could be called meteors. Later the word meteor was reserved for the so called falling stars that are large enough to reach the ground. Before burning to ashes.

A comet is a small cousin of the planets. It orbits the sun in a long, narrow ellipse and flashes across our skies like a vivid star with a tail of filmy gold. This happens when its orbit brings it close around the sun. If it travels on schedule, it then returns to the dark reaches of the solar system. But a passing comet might, just might come too close and be pulled down by the earth's gravity. As it streaked down through our skies, this colliding comet would become a meteor.