The Effects of Cometary Collisions
November 5th 2007 00:07
A few weeks ago I wrote about visiting comets , there are currently two dirty ice balls (comets) in view this month comet LONEOS can be seen low in the west just after sunset and comet Holmes can be seen around 3 am. A great deal of research has been invested into what makes a comet tick, a number of space probes have been sent to photograph comets in the past decade although in 2005 NASA had a successful rendezvous with comet Temple 1.
Two spacecraft of NASA's Deep Impact mission, dubbed Flyby and Impactor by their makers. The spacecraft consists of a 370 kg cylindrical copper impactor attached to a 650 kg flyby bus. two years ago made history, their mission to unlock the inner secrets of comets. The view was spectacular. Their goal was to launch a probe that would impact on a live comet called Tempel 1.
Sixty-nine days before it gets up-close-and-personal with a comet, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully photographed its quarry, comet Tempel 1, from a distance of 64 million kilometers (39.7 million miles).
The Deep Impact spacecraft has four data collectors to observe the effects of the collision – a camera and infrared spectrometer comprise the high resolution instrument, a medium resolution instrument, and a duplicate of that camera on the impactor (called the impactor targeting sensor) that will record the vehicle's final moments before it is run over by comet Tempel 1 at a speed of about 37,000 kilometers per hour (23,000 miles per hour).
A series of images taken from the impactor camera as it approaches the comet
You have just seen the effect of a 370 kg object hitting a comet imagine a larger object hitting Earth.
Earth is no stranger to comets over the millennia many comets have impacted on Earth. The evidence is seen in the large crater impacts caused by comets and asteroids which may have caused mass extinction but also spawned new life on this planet. The most recent episode that may have been a lose icy comet struck northern Siberia I June 1908 an explosion of immense destructive proportions rocked the desolate, pine-forested area of Tunguska in Northern Siberia, 2200 miles east of Moscow. The explosion was seen up to 300 miles away, was felt nearly 400 miles away, and was heard over 500 miles away. All over Europe there were reports of strange glows of various colours in the sky. Eye-witnesses nearer the centre of the explosion spoke of a brilliant blue, log-shaped object hurtling through the sky and exploding with a blinding flash and a roar.
Despite the size and ferocity of the explosion, only a few dozen remote villagers were killed, as the area is almost totally uninhabitable. It is presumed it was the remains of an icy comet which broke apart and exploded around 5 kilometer above the Earth`s surface.
There are many theories regarding the mass explosion being attributed to an asteroid or large meteorite. From data inferred from eye-witness accounts, that a fragment of Comet Encke caused the catastrophe. A small cometary fragment (approximately 40m diameter) would have been visible for about an hour in the dawn sky before impact and could have caused the release of radioactivity when it struck the Earth. Soil brought back in 1927 was intensively examined and found to contain microscopic blobs of fused metal and glass with traces of cobalt, copper and germanium - elements not found in normal meteorites. Calculations revealed the speed of the object to be 18 miles per second an object travelling at this speed and given the mass of the object would cause great devastation over a wide area which would account for the charred trees over one thousand five hundred square miles of forest had been charred and flattened. Just goes to show what a lot of speed and a bit of mass can very destructive combination.
a video of the actual impact on the comet
Images NASA, Etal
Two spacecraft of NASA's Deep Impact mission, dubbed Flyby and Impactor by their makers. The spacecraft consists of a 370 kg cylindrical copper impactor attached to a 650 kg flyby bus. two years ago made history, their mission to unlock the inner secrets of comets. The view was spectacular. Their goal was to launch a probe that would impact on a live comet called Tempel 1.
Image taken by the flyby camera just after impact
The Deep Impact spacecraft has four data collectors to observe the effects of the collision – a camera and infrared spectrometer comprise the high resolution instrument, a medium resolution instrument, and a duplicate of that camera on the impactor (called the impactor targeting sensor) that will record the vehicle's final moments before it is run over by comet Tempel 1 at a speed of about 37,000 kilometers per hour (23,000 miles per hour).
A series of images taken from the impactor camera as it approaches the comet
One of the final images taken just micro seconds before impact
You have just seen the effect of a 370 kg object hitting a comet imagine a larger object hitting Earth.
Earth is no stranger to comets over the millennia many comets have impacted on Earth. The evidence is seen in the large crater impacts caused by comets and asteroids which may have caused mass extinction but also spawned new life on this planet. The most recent episode that may have been a lose icy comet struck northern Siberia I June 1908 an explosion of immense destructive proportions rocked the desolate, pine-forested area of Tunguska in Northern Siberia, 2200 miles east of Moscow. The explosion was seen up to 300 miles away, was felt nearly 400 miles away, and was heard over 500 miles away. All over Europe there were reports of strange glows of various colours in the sky. Eye-witnesses nearer the centre of the explosion spoke of a brilliant blue, log-shaped object hurtling through the sky and exploding with a blinding flash and a roar.
Despite the size and ferocity of the explosion, only a few dozen remote villagers were killed, as the area is almost totally uninhabitable. It is presumed it was the remains of an icy comet which broke apart and exploded around 5 kilometer above the Earth`s surface.
There are many theories regarding the mass explosion being attributed to an asteroid or large meteorite. From data inferred from eye-witness accounts, that a fragment of Comet Encke caused the catastrophe. A small cometary fragment (approximately 40m diameter) would have been visible for about an hour in the dawn sky before impact and could have caused the release of radioactivity when it struck the Earth. Soil brought back in 1927 was intensively examined and found to contain microscopic blobs of fused metal and glass with traces of cobalt, copper and germanium - elements not found in normal meteorites. Calculations revealed the speed of the object to be 18 miles per second an object travelling at this speed and given the mass of the object would cause great devastation over a wide area which would account for the charred trees over one thousand five hundred square miles of forest had been charred and flattened. Just goes to show what a lot of speed and a bit of mass can very destructive combination.
a video of the actual impact on the comet
Images NASA, Etal
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Comment by tlcorbin-raginravensview
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
Paranormal Paranormal
Is Why
Alaska Chronicle
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
It has been a long time since I have seen the Northern lights, Un fortunatelyI live too far north to see the southern Lights down under but the nights are clear.
Keep looking at the skies it is great for the soul.
Kind regards Carl