Page 74 - The Day of Judgment

72 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

proximity of such disasters. There is no reason why the next impact
should not occur on a densely populated area. At present, scientists
are very concerned about such an impact's potential consequences,
for:

If such an impact occurred today it might be mistaken, especially in the
panic of the moment, for a nuclear explosion. The cometary impact and
fireball would simulate all effects of a one-megaton nuclear burst,
including the mushroom cloud, with two exceptions: there would be no
gamma radiation or radioactive fallout. 24
The impact of such a massive object on a large city could kill
millions of people. If it fell in the ocean, it would still be
devastatingly dangerous, for its velocity and mass would create
tidal waves that would destroy the shoreline's populated areas.
Furthermore, the likelihood of much larger meteors colliding with
Earth is highly probable and gives food for thought. Scientists
consider such an event inevitable, and say that it would be able to
destroy whole continents and fill the atmosphere with toxic gases.
They also readily admit that they are still fervently looking for a

solution.

ASTEROIDS AND COMETS

Scientist state that the probability of a collision between Earth
and some of the known asteroids increases by the day. Duncan
Smith, reader in space technology at the University of Salford said

scientists had identified more than a thousand asteroids, of various
dimensions, that have orbits around the Sun that cross the path of
the Earth. Scientists say that big asteroids have hit Earth before and
it is only a matter of time before one strikes the Earth again. 25