What are the possible effects of a comet hitting the earth?
The effects of an asteroid or comet impacting the earth depends on the size and composition of the impactor. There is literally tons of material hitting the earth every day! Most of it is just dust and burns up in the atmosphere as shooting stars. On October 9, 1992, a fireball was seen streaking across the sky from Kentucky to New York. At least 14 people captured part of the fireball on videotape. Larger pieces may survive their fiery passage through the atmosphere to hit the ground. It is believed that a 10km wide rock hitting the earth 65 millions of years ago was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
