Apparently, gigantic comets, not asteroids pose a greater hazard to Earth
than previously thought. Chilling statements from a team of researchers
point to the recent discovery of hundreds of planet-sized space rocks,
any
one of which is capable of causing mass extinction and destruction of all l
ife forms. If you're thinking about the movie Armageddon, you're not that
far off, only this one involves killer comets
According to the Royal Astronomical Society (or RAS), Professors David
Asher and Mark Bailey with Armagh Observatory and Professors Duncan
Steel and Bill Napier of University of Buckingham revealed the results of
their findings. The team of astronomers fired a fierce warning shot to
governing bodies around the world about the potential for catastrophic
events should a comet impact the planet.
The scope of the men's' investigation centers on the last two decades of
The scope of the men's' investigation centers on the last two decades of
nterplanetary potential Earth-smashers in the Asteroid belt. However,
over the last two decades, scores of comets came into view that was
once hidden by the orbits of other planets and the sun.
The giant comets called, "Centaurs," are enormous ice and dust bodies
The giant comets called, "Centaurs," are enormous ice and dust bodies
with diameters as large as 62 miles across. Their orbits are long, yet
unstable, and occasionally the gravity of the giant planets Jupiter and
Saturn slingshots the killer comets towards Earth. Current estimates are
about once ever 40,000 to 100,000 years.
Risk of comet hitting Earth is greater than
previously thought, say researchers
The typical debris tail often seen in literature occurs when the intense heat of the sun breaks up comets, as they get close. The research group warns that in the unfortunate chance a Centaur breaks apart, the resulting fragments would bombard the planet for 100,000 years.
The size of these rocks is impressive, but the size of their bulk is worthy of note. For example, one of these potentially deadly comets has a mass that is more than all the known asteroids in the belt that crosses Earth. A study co-author weighed in on the group’s recent findings.
The size of these rocks is impressive, but the size of their bulk is worthy of note. For example, one of these potentially deadly comets has a mass that is more than all the known asteroids in the belt that crosses Earth. A study co-author weighed in on the group’s recent findings.
"In the last three decades, we have invested a lot of effort in tracking and analyzing the risk of a collision between the Earth and an asteroid.
"If we are right, then these distant comets could be a serious hazard, and it's time to understand them better."
If the impact of a gigantic comet doesn't end life on the planet, the resultant nuclear winter created by dust clouds will de disastrous. The consensus in academia is that a large comet impact caused the extinction of dinosaurs millions of years ago.
Read more at http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2015/12/30/disturbing-update-gigantic-comets-thre1#RwlDWmd8l90dTOc3.99
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