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When Comets Attack

Posted by Soulskill on from the fast-rocks-slow-children dept.

Red Flayer writes "Popular Mechanics is running a story that describes one of the more interesting explanations for the Tunguska explosion of 1908: 'Now, a controversial new scientific study suggests that a chunk of a comet caused the 5-10 megaton fireball, bouncing off the atmosphere and back into orbit around the sun. The scientists have even identified a candidate Tunguska object — now more than 100 million miles away — that will pass close to Earth again in 2045.' Note that Popular Mechanics' definition of 'close to' is somewhat different than most people's — the comet will be 3.8 million miles away at its closest. At any rate, the key to this theory is that hydrogen and oxygen in the ice shard exploded upon entering the atmosphere, resulting in the difficult-to-explain blast pattern (previous theories contend that the object must have 'skipped' on the atmosphere and then re-entered at the exact same spot). This would also, sadly, dash the theory that Nikola Tesla was responsible."

12 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. IOW by T+Murphy · · Score: 5, Funny

    The sun's trying to start a snowball fight.

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  2. Fools! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was the great Nikola Tesla who summoned the comet in the first place!

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    The enemies of Democracy are
    1. Re:Fools! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      In Soviet Russia, Tesla summons you!

       
       
       
       
       
       

      Please don't kill me.

    2. Re:Fools! by owlnation · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nikola Tesla destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognized the element of surprise.
      (with apologies to Chuck Norris)

    3. Re:Fools! by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 5, Funny

      In fact, Nikola Tesla's chief weapon was surprise. And fear.

      His two weapons were fear and surprise. And ruthless efficiency.

      His three weapons were fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency. And an almost fanatical devotion to alternating power.

      I'll come in again...

  3. Re:This is new and controversial? by e9th · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe you did. Were you in Siberia in 1908?

  4. Re:incredible artist rendition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    General Hammond painted that?

  5. Re:incredible artist rendition by Daimanta · · Score: 1, Funny

    And the artist's rendition of the sound of the explosion:

    K-A-B-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-M!!!11!!
    garblegarblegarblegarblegarblegarble

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  6. Re:Could have been a huge deal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What if Siberia were a great metropolis before this? Don't believe the lies!

  7. Re:Could have been a huge deal. by adavies42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    at which point he'd been hanging around various parts of western russia and eastern europe for nearly forty years....

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  8. Re:incredible artist rendition by Kenz0r · · Score: 2, Funny

    You've shown that there are only two degrees of separation between Don Davis and Don Davis.

    Now how many degrees is Don Davis from Kevin Bacon?

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  9. Sorry Everyone by dayton967 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It was me, that day I had 2 bean burritos, and happened to be in the area when I had a major attack of gas. And the extinction of the dinosaurs that was me again. I really need to stop it with the bean burritos but they are just so damn good.