Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:00:45 -0700, "
wrote:


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...pace_impact_dc

Wouldn't this possibly change the orbit of the comet, which can then
either hit Eearth or even hit other comets and change their course?

Not to smart me thinks. But then, I'm no rocket scientist.


The energy will be enough to make a 100m crater in a 6km diameter object. The
momentum of an object a microscopic fraction of the mass of the comet will be
transferred to the comet. I very much doubt that the resulting orbital deviation
is even measurable. It certainly won't be enough to throw the comet into an
Earth crossing orbit. No worries!

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
Unless the butterfly effect occurs.

Dave Nagel