Hazards from comets and asteroids

Abstract

The following article discusses the threats faced by Earth due to collisions with stray celestial bodies of unknown size, such as unknown asteroids and comets. It further argues that our knowledge of the threat is limited, as crater studies, telescopic searches, and dynamical analysis only offer partial data on how often we are struck. Consequently, present methods of modeling Earth’s impact rate might be inaccurate. Dynamical analysis currently suggests that dormant comets are a possible major contributor to the impact hazard, yet are still largely undetected due to little information regarding them. – AI-generated abstract.