The arrival of a asteroid / comet on Earth represents a possible threat and precisely for this reason there are various programs in which scientists continuously monitor the sky (we have also changed the orbit of an object with the DART mission, . But if it hit Earth, what would happen? Well it depends on many factors: impact angle, mass and speed (the affected area is also important). First of all, let’s make some clarifications.
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Asteroids, comets, meteoroids
- An asteroid is a rocky celestial body of often quite irregular shape and not very bright. Most of them are located in the so-called asteroid belt, a region located between the orbit of the planets Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can have various shapes and some also have natural satellites;
- Unlike an asteroid, a comet is composed of both rock and ice. Thus, when a comet gets close enough to the Sun, the ice vaporizes and is expelled by jets that also take the dust with them. A comet therefore appears ‘fuzzy’ and, sometimes, with two tails;
- A meteoroid it is a relatively small piece of asteroid or cometoften created by their collision. When it enters the Earth’s atmosphere it is called a meteor. Due to the high speed reached during the fall and the friction with the air, it becomes incandescent, thus producing a trail of light (a phenomenon better known as a ‘shooting star’). Furthermore, it may happen that the meteor also manages to land; in this case it is instead called a meteorite.
And now you can have fun with the program: Asteroid Launcher is, free of charge, (you can choose the type and also a comet).
If the work we are doing seems useful to you and for everyone, you can also decide to participate and join Passione Astronomia. We can promise you that with your help there will be more and more content to follow and understand the universe better.
