What effect do Comets have on the planets and the solar system?

Answer 1

Scientifically, I don't have your answer, but I'm sure they have some impact on them.

Answer 2

In the early years of our solar system, before life arose on earth, comets brought lots of gases and water, since they are described as dirty snowballs that can be many feet or miles across the nucleus of the comet.

Nowadays, there are fewer comets orbiting the sun. When one comes into the inner solar system where we are, the "snow" starts melting and turning again into gases. Don't worry about the gases they spew out in their tales as it is so defuse that it has no effect on our or any other planet.

Comets also leave behind a lot of dust that the gases blow out. If the earth moves through the tail of a comet it leads to the meteor showers that we see as the dust falls into our atmosphere.

If a comet were to hit a planet, depending on the size of it, it would cause an explosion in the planet's atmosphere. If it is big enough to hit the surface of a planet it can cause a large explosion as it is heated suddenly while moving through the atmosphere.

A comet may have hit the earth once in our history where an explosion occurred just before something hit the surface of a remote part of Siberia. Called the Tunguska explosion, it happened in 1908. The explosion blew down many trees for miles around. Some scientist believe it was a comet, although many others think it was an asteroid.

You can read about the whole Tunguska event and what scientist think happened at this web site: http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/siberia.htm

To see a comet now, the comet McNaught is in the sky and can be seen during daylight near the sun. Just be careful and don't look directly at the sun!

Answer 3

A comet could really ruin your day if it hit the earth during your life. The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 that hit Jupiter created an enormous explosion each time one of the major pieces of the comet hit the planet.
It may be that the water we have on earth was delivered to the earth by impact events.

Answer 4

They have no effect, except if they crash to a planet, or at least almost, they may affect the rotation and the revolution of that planet.

Answer 5

Observationally, none other that for the reasons cited by Twizard, However, theoretically, all bodies that have mass and a gravitational field do affect every other body with a mass albeit very tiny.