Earth catastrophe. Artwork representing the collision between the comet Swift-Tuttle and the Earth which, according to some astronomers, could take pl

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Earth catastrophe. Artwork representing the collision between the comet Swift-Tuttle and the Earth which, according to some astronomers, could take place in August 2126. The comet, the debris of which causes the Perseid meteor shower, was first discovered in 1862. The first calculations indicated a period of about 120 years. In the 1970s the astronomer B. Marsden recalculated the orbit considering the perturbations caused by the \rocket effect\" of gas evaporating from the comet. He proposed a new period of 130 years and predicted (rightly) its next appearance in 1992. The hypothesis of the collision is to be tested against more data on the comet's trajectory."

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Size: 5211px × 3543px
Photo credit: © JULIAN BAUM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, collision, comet, cometary, comets, cosmology, earth, science, swift-tuttle