Which statement about meteoroids is accurate?

• A. They are large planets.
• B. They travel in highly predictable routes around Earth.
• C. They are small pieces of rocks flying through space with no particular path.
• D. They are the remnant cores of dead stars.

Answer: (C)

Meteoroids are small rocks or metal fragments traveling through space. They originate from debris left over after asteroid collisions or from comets, and they move under the influence of gravity, so their paths aren’t fixed around Earth. They don’t form large planets, and they aren’t remnant cores of dead stars. Only a subset of meteoroids intersect Earth’s path, which is why we sometimes see meteors when they enter the atmosphere.