which will slam harder into the earth? an asteroid or a comet?

Question

pls feel free to make your own general (or specific) assumptions... (e.g., size, shape, speed, others)

the tunguska event seems to be an interesting event.. the airburst is an intriguing phenomenon...

30 minutes left and it is hard to choose best answer, all magnificent answers!

Answer 1

If they both have the same mass, the asteroid will hit harder because it is denser, therefore less will burn up in the atmosphere as it comes in.

Answer 2

Well how to classify this is that a comet would be an asteroid that has fallen into a gravity field and is subject to it's pull. An asteroid on the other hand is a comet that is not being eated up by a gravity field. They more or less have calculated paths they follow through space.

Either would have the same effect on the earth. Just a matter of mass and speed.

Answer 3

All generalizations about comets and asteroids are wrong; but I’ll generalize, anyway. Comets generally have more elliptical orbits than asteroids, and they are more likely to be in a plane other than the ecliptic; therefore, they are more likely to cross our orbit with a greater relative velocity than meteors. A large comet from the oort cloud would be the most dangerous.

Comets, generally, are more like muddy snowballs, so they are more likely to explode in the atmosphere than to impact the surface. A meteor with the same mass is more likely to deliver most of its energy to the surface, doing more damage. Nevertheless, a really big comet could do a lot of damage. The Tunguska event was most likely a comet.

For a truly meaningful comparison, you would need to specify the size, density, composition, velocity and angle of impact of two specific events.

Answer 4

Velocity is the point: if the two are the same size, both( asteroid and comet) the speed is the deciding factor, the asteroid traveling 18 to 22 thousand miles per hour and the comet ten times that. even if the comet is made up with ice and the asteroid iron, the faster moving comet will slam the earth harder with its stored energy from a higher rate of speed

Answer 5

All generalizations about comets and asteroids are wrong; but I’ll generalize, anyway. Comets generally have more elliptical orbits than asteroids, and they are more likely to be in a plane other than the ecliptic; therefore, they are more likely to cross our orbit with a greater relative velocity than meteors. A large comet from the oort cloud would be the most dangerous.

Comets, generally, are more like muddy snowballs, so they are more likely to explode in the atmosphere than to impact the surface. A meteor with the same mass is more likely to deliver most of its energy to the surface, doing more damage. Nevertheless, a really big comet could do a lot of damage. The Tunguska event was most likely a comet.

For a truly meaningful comparison, you would need to specify the size, density, composition, velocity and angle of impact of two specific events.

Answer 6

If u r considering an asteroid & comet with same mass,speed & shape then here are answer
consider a comet, much of the mass of comet is due to ice of
carbon,nitrogen,hydrogen& few others as we know, consider a asteroid,it is mainly made of hematite & other heavy metal.
Now u think is hitting with hammer of iron is more painfull or a ice cube but that cannot be considered as a reason.
Ice has lesser specific heat capacity which means ice will melt down easily to become gases but heavy metals have a different case even though they will melt down but thet have tendency to form a compact body even after melting causing more damage but ices get scattered when they melt and are moving quickly. so asteroid will melt but will be together and cause huge impact but comet get scattered and will explode in atmosphere.
If u consider same size still it is asteroid because they are more denser than comet.
If u consider distance travelled than again asteroid are champ coz when comet nears sun they start lossing their mass as a tail is formed but asteroid only losses mass when they enter an atmosphere.
considering speed it is comet since they have a huge elliptical path than asteroid this causes comet to move faster as they near sun.
so considerind all the above factor asteroid is my official champion.

Answer 7

Gravity pull does not depend on the weight or mass. Since EARTH has a atmosphere(resistance) it depends on the aerodynamic dimension and structure of the object entering Earth and initial speed when they enter the atmosphere.

Answer 8

That depends on three things.
1..The mass of the object.
2..The speed of the object.
3..How much of the object survived the plunge through our atmosphere.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

an asteroid... because a comet will usualy break up into many small pieces before hitting earth.