"An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects."
The study of the effects of meteoroids, asteroids, and comets on planetary surfaces.
Meteorites: Rocks that have fallen from space.
Asteroids: Small rocky bodies in the Solar System that orbit the Sun.
Comets: Small icy bodies that orbit the Sun and produce tails of gas and dust.
Craters: Bowl-shaped depressions on planetary surfaces caused by impact events.
Impact structures: The geological features formed by a large impact event, such as a shockwave or crater.
Kinetic energy: The energy of an object in motion, which plays a major role in impact events.
Ejecta: Material that is thrown out of a crater during an impact event.
Impact melt: Molten rock that may be formed during an impact event.
Shock metamorphism: The transformation of rocks due to the high pressure and temperature of impact events.
Impact hydrothermal systems: The phenomenon where the energy from the impact event creates hot water systems in the rocks below the impact structure.
Astrobiology: The study of life and its potential to exist beyond Earth, including the effects of impacts on the evolution of life.
Planetary defense: The strategies and technologies used to defend Earth from asteroid and comet impacts.
Mass extinctions: Events where a large percentage of Earth’s species go extinct, often attributed to impact events.
Meteorite Impact: A meteorite collision with Earth's surface, creating a crater and ejecting debris.
Comet Impact: A comet's collision with Earth's surface, resulting in a crater and ejecting debris.
Asteroid Impact: An asteroid's collision with Earth's surface, creating a crater and ejecting debris.
Volcanic Impact: Volcanic eruptions can release ash, lava, and gases with long-lasting environmental effects.
Climate Change Impact: Changes in the atmosphere and climate can result from events like volcanic eruptions and asteroid impacts.
Biological Impact: The effects of an astronomical event on Earth's flora and fauna can be significant, like the extinction of dinosaurs after an asteroid impact.
Geomorphic Impact: Large geological features, such as mountains and valleys, can be formed or altered by astronomical events.
Hydrological Impact: Astronomical events can also impact water systems, water quality, and the environment surrounding water bodies.
Tectonic Impact: Earthquakes, which can be triggered by astronomical events, can cause significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Cosmic Ray Impact: Cosmic rays from space can impact the Earth, affecting the atmosphere and potentially causing damage to technological systems.
Solar Flare Impact: Solar flares and geomagnetic storms can impact technology, like satellites and power grids.
Magnetic Field Impact: Astronomical events can also affect Earth's magnetic field, which can have a range of impacts on biological systems and technology.
"Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids."
"When large objects impact terrestrial planets such as the Earth, there can be significant physical and biospheric consequences."
"Atmospheres mitigate many surface impacts through atmospheric entry."
"Impact craters and structures are dominant landforms on many of the Solar System's solid objects and present the strongest empirical evidence for their frequency and scale."
"Impact events appear to have played a significant role in the evolution of the Solar System since its formation."
"Major impact events have significantly shaped Earth's history."
"Impact events have been implicated in the formation of the Earth–Moon system."
"Impact events also appear to have played a significant role in the evolutionary history of life."
"Impacts may have helped deliver the building blocks for life (the panspermia theory relies on this premise)."
"Impacts have been suggested as the origin of water on Earth."
"The prehistoric Chicxulub impact, 66 million years ago, is believed to not only be the cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event but acceleration of the evolution of mammals leading to their dominance."
"Throughout recorded history, hundreds of Earth impacts (and exploding bolides) have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage, or other significant localised consequences."
"One of the best-known recorded events in modern times was the Tunguska event, which occurred in Siberia, Russia, in 1908."
"The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event is the only known such incident in modern times to result in numerous injuries. Its meteor is the largest recorded object to have encountered the Earth since the Tunguska event."
"The Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact provided the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects, when the comet broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994."
"An extrasolar impact was observed in 2013 when a massive terrestrial planet impact was detected around the star ID8 in the star cluster NGC 2547 by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and confirmed by ground observations."
"In April 2018, the B612 Foundation reported: 'It's 100 percent certain we'll be hit [by a devastating asteroid], but we're not 100 percent certain when.'"
"Physicist Stephen Hawking considered in his final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions that an asteroid collision was the biggest threat to the planet."
"In June 2018, the US National Science and Technology Council warned that America is unprepared for an asteroid impact event, and has developed and released the 'National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy Action Plan' to better prepare."