Which would be more devastating for earth, a comet impact or asteroid impact?
by 
Zack Be Gone - All Hail Firebrand.
ANSWERS: 10
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Comet, because it's like, on fire. And a lot bigger than your average asteroid. Is my guess.
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Whichever one is bigger, they can both be fairly small to big hair mofos. If they were the same size, probably the comet, since they live out in the ort cloud, they are more likely to have attracted chemicals that could be dangerous. Don't know for sure, jus'sayin'
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Well mass is the main criterion, but if they were both the same then the comet probably because it would be moving faster.
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... mass and velocity would determine which would cause more impact damage ... ... with a possible "degree of life ending potential" exception being the presence of highly toxic/poisonous elements/compounds or even alien viruses/bacteria in a comet that enters our system from some distant point in deep space (like the old movie "Andromeda Strain") ...
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Hmm - I pick comet, seems scarier.
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an asteroid, right? you would think so because of the size
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Does it matter? That's like asking whether a hydrogen bomb or an atomic bomb would be more devastating... pick your horrible poison...
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A comet impact would definitely be worse, thats like a whole planet crashing into earth!!!!
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An "asteroid," because a comet is a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of ice, dust, and gas.
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You should realize there is little to no difference between the two. A large asteroid (which there are several kinds we know of)my break in very small peaces before impact showering us with dust. A large comet may just be a small amount of ice covering a large stony core. The point is, it does not matter what we call. What matters is the amount of energy converted or released on impact with Earth or its atmosphere.
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