Impact of comets on solar, system objects

Abstract

Several observational evidences such as some comets impinging on the Sun while others missing the actual collision with the Sun or the planet, from the study of the fossil records and other geological phenomena on the Earth indicate that the events like the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter are not uncommon in the solar system. After a brief overview of comets, the efforts made to study this historic event and some of the results obtained so far will be discussed. These results, when understood fully, should give a fair idea of the expected effects, if a similar phenomenon were to occur on the Earth.