Giant Comets

Giant comets hovering on the edge of the solar system pose risk to life on Earth, scientists say.

14:52 04 January 2016

A new study claims that Earth could be at much greater risk of a comet strike than previously thought.  Scientists have warned that a whole set of underestimated comets hovering on the edge of the solar system may make their way here and collide with us.

 

Professor Bill Napier from the University of Buckingham, one of the authors of the research, said: "In the last three decades we have invested a lot of effort in tracking and analysing the risk of a collision between the Earth and an asteroid,”

 

“Our work suggests we need to look beyond our immediate neighbourhood too, and look out beyond the orbit of Jupiter to find centaurs. If we are right, then these distant comets could be a serious hazard, and it's time to understand them better."

 

The research was conducted by the team of scientists from the University of Buckingham and Armagh University and is published in Astronomy and Geophysics.