Asteroids are smaller than planets, bigger than meteoroids, and they don't have the tail or fuzzy appearance that a comet does. "Minor planet" is a technical term for asteroid.

Comets are like asteroids, but when they are near the sun they release dust or gas. This gives them a tail or makes them look fuzzy.

Topics for this category include meteors, bolides, fireballs, and airbursts.

A meteor is an event, not just an object. It happens when small pebble (a meteoroid) enters our atmosphere and burns up. Any pieces that reach the ground are called meteorites. Meteoroids are distinguished from asteroids by being too small to cause much damage at ground level, if they were to hit the Earth.

Please submit sites here that reference specific near miss events or specific threatening objects. News hype is acceptable but keep in mind that this is a science category. Consider if one of the following categories might be more appropriate:

Society/Future/Catastrophes/Large_Near_Earth_Object_Impacts

Society/Issues/Warfare_and_Conflict/Planetary_Defense

or even,

Science/Anomalies_and_Alternative_Science/Astronomy,_Alternative

more information (editors only)

Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids or comets that come relatively close to earth. They are of special interest because of the collision hazard they pose to Earth. Meteors, while certainly close to Earth, are generally not considered NEOs.

These are ordinary optical observatories, except researchers at these observatories concentrate almost exclusively on asteroids and comets.