Question

a student is taking an animal science and an astronomy class. in animal sciences, she learns that pumas are called mountain lions and cougars in different parts of the world, but they are all the same cat. she makes an analogy, or comparison, to something she learned in her astronomy class. she says that a certain space object is like a puma because it is the same object but has different names depending on where it is. what space object is she thinking of? comet meteoroid asteroid meteorite

Explanation:

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body in outer - space. When it enters the Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteor (a "shooting star"), and if it survives the passage through the atmosphere and hits the Earth's surface, it is called a meteorite. They are the same object but with different names depending on their location (in space, in the atmosphere, or on the ground), similar to how a puma has different names in different regions. Comets are different as they have a distinct icy composition and a visible coma and tail when near the Sun. Asteroids are larger rocky bodies in space.

Answer:

meteoroid