The Universe - Deadly Comets and Meteors

Tau CetiTau Ceti©David A. Hardy

Asteroids and Comets Make Tau Ceti Lethal
In 2007 it was announced that there could be an Earth-sized planet in orbit around the star Tau Ceti. However, as there is also a very large dust-disc surrounding this star, any planet would be likely to have many comets in its sky, and be bombarded constantly with meteorites, as shown here. So probably not a very likely abode of life!  (Commissioned by RoE/PPARC.)

Today on Far Future Horizons we focus our attention on those cosmic juggernauts of doom and destruction that prowl the universe and threaten humanity's very existence - the asteroids and comets. These celestial objects have left their imprint on planet Earth and the other worlds of our solar system and have shaped the history of our solar system.

Initially this debris helped to build the planets through violent collisions. It is believed by many planetary scientists that during the Earth’s fiery infancy that comets and asteroids may have even seeded Earth with water and the building blocks for life.

Since the turbulent formation of the solar system, these space rocks have continued to impact Earth.

Some of these impacts may have been so violent that they led to several mass extinction episodes in Earth’s four and a half billion year history, including one that wiped out the dinosaur. Scientists, like the late Fred Hoyle and Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, have proposed that asteroid and cometary dust may harbor deadly viruses that may have triggered some of our worst pandemics. The possibility of future collisions remains a legitimate threat yet despite their dangers, asteroids and comets may hold vital natural resources, which could actually preserve humankind and transform our global society into a spacefaring civilization.

The Universe is available on DVD from Amazon.com and the History Channel’s online store.

The Universe - Deadly Comets and Meteors

The Universe S03 E06 - Deadly Comets and Meteors by kaanozten Copyright Disclaimer Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.