Asteroids and Comets

Synopsis

About 65 million years ago, a hunk of debris about six miles across-cither an asteroid or a comet-plungedthrough Earth's atmosphere and struck near the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. A blast equivalent to that of billions of atomic bombs exploding simu. A blast equivalent to that of billions of atomic bombs exploding simultaneously caused wildfires to sweep across the continents, created a perpetual winter lasting years, and wiped out some 70 percent of all animal species; including the dinosaurs. Unfortunately for humanity, this was neither the first nor the last such catastrophe triggered by an extraterrestrial impact. Our solar system is littered with cosmic debris of all sizes, and at least some of these space rocks strike the planet every year. Most are small and do little damage. But now and then large ones hit, some with the potential of wiping out a city or, in the case of an ocean strike, generating towering sea waves that could sweep miles inland. Scientists agree: It is not a matter of if such disasters will happen, but when. Book jacket.