Pardon the dumb Question: Is Comet Holmes the Biggest Dust Bunny Ever now?

Question

Consider this recent report, on Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20071115/sc_space/incrediblecometbiggerthanthesun

Okay....I actually do have a somewhat serious question about this. What would happen if we, on Earth, *hit* the comet somehow?(um, I think that's how the grammar would parse, sorry) What if we hit the radically exploded coma, or dust cloud, of this thing? Assume that we don't hit the core, since we know what that's like (the Tunguska explosion over that Russian forest).

--Would it be a disaster?
--Would it be a total non-issue, like running over the Biggest Dust Bunny Ever (that is, something we don't even notice)?
--Would it be something else entirely? (like a cool light show that lasts for *weeks on end*, or a source of atmospheric contamination)

And...I'm sorry, but "dust bunny" doesn't cut it now. ^_^ Dust Eagle (like what you get from a ceiling fan occasionally)? Dust Mastodon? Dust Leviathan? What metaphor works now?

Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

Yes, it would pretty much be a total non-issue. The coma of the comet is so thin and diffuse we wouldn't even notice anything if it *hit* us. (Not to mention that it's about as far away as Jupiter's orbit and moving away from us anyway.)

We would get an excellent view of the comet if we passed that close to it, though. It would most likely be bright enough to see in broad daylight.

Answer 2

Since the cloud of dust and gas surrounding the small comet is extremely thin, MUCH thinner than the air in Earth's atmosphere, if Earth passed through it, we wouldn't notice anything at all. Maybe more shooting stars than usual, but nothing more than that.

Notice that I said Earth pass through the cloud and not the cloud hitting Earth. That is because the cloud is bigger than Earth. MUCH bugger. Bigger than the Sun, which has 100 times the diameter and 1,000,000 times the volume of Earth.

Answer 3

In 1910 astronomers discovered that Halley's comet had cyanide in its tail. And earth would be passing through the tail On May 18, 1910 the media (despite the pleas of astronomers) wove sensational tales of mass cyanide poisoning engulfing the planet. In reality, the gas is so diffuse that the world suffered no ill-effects from the passage through the tail. Undeterred by reality, People invested heavily in the sickness pills, moved their belongings underground, sold their possessions and more.
So yes, unless the comet itself hits the earth, and it wont, the tail will have absolutely no effect. You suck in far more nauseous gasses in a morning commute than you are going to get from any comet.

Answer 4

I would think you would have to know how fast the "dust" is traveling around it's nucleus and what exactly it is made up of. Is it just ice or is it some exotic metal not found on Earth? Our atmosphere could simply push this dust out of the way or possibly just burn it up. This dust could also be some very high temperature resistant metal that would rain down on Earth in a fiery death (I sure hope not). I think Dust Mammoth is a good metaphor.

Answer 5

I've seen the image and it's the bigger then the sun. If the comet hits their will be a big tidle wave bigger then anyone's dreams and the whole world is covered in water and the moon will be effected as well and the comet will move the moon to earth. I think people are planning to nuclear the comet.

Answer 6

For the most section...my position is probable purifier than maximum individuals's, yet... each and every so often...i need to admit... a number of my position of residing "dirt bunnies," now and again develop into so "evolutionarily stepped ahead," that they are commonly persuaded to do my "income taxes" for me...