Astrophysicists have estimated the probability of collision of Earth with centaurs

Scientists have studied the orbits of asteroids that could destroy life on Earth or create favorable conditions for its development on other planets.

Giants of space: the biggest stars

Astrophysics Mattia, Galiazzo and Rudolf Dvorak of the University of Vienna, in cooperation with Elizabeth Silber of Brown University, studied the fate of centaurs – small bodies of the solar system whose orbits are located between Jupiter and Neptune. The researchers counted the number of close encounters and collisions with planets of a land group after the so-called late bombardment, about 3.8 billion years ago, as well as the possible size of craters resulting of collisions with the Earth and the other planets of the group. The study described in the newspaper Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society.

For the most part belong to centaurs trans-Neptunian objects and constitute a part of the sources close to the Earth. Therefore, it is important to understand the development of their orbits, which can in some cases lead to a collision with the planets of the land group and cause a catastrophic event.

"We have calculated the approximate size of the craters. They can become active comets because of the presence of water in many of them. We also calculated the approximate amount of water that went down, which is comparable to the volume of water in the Adriatic Sea. We found sub-regions of centaurs, from which the potential impactors, "says Mattia, Galiazzo.

The internal solar system and the solar system between the giant planets / © Mattia Galiazzo

The crater size can reach hundreds of kilometers in diameter. However, given the known population of centaurs, most craters would be less than ten kilometers away. Scientists have focused on the two collisions that have occurred since the late intensive bombardment on Earth and Venus. This "bombing" was not as intense as the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. But centaurs on average, much faster and heavier. For small centaurs (of a diameter less than one kilometer), the frequency of collisions is much higher: about 14 million years for the Earth every 13 million years for Venus and 46. Millions of years for March. The researchers found that nearly half of centaurs can enter the Earth's region and that seven percent of them are able to interact with Earth's planets. They can also be the cause of catastrophic events on Earth in the past.

These results are important for the analysis of catastrophic events of extraterrestrial origin, which occur on planets such as Mars and Venus.

"Our work provides a system to better understand past events and how they could change life on Earth and other terrestrial planets. Such events can have a direct impact on lives or its destruction (eg on the ground) or to create favorable conditions (eg hydrothermal activity) for the formation of a new life. In addition, our results provide more answers to questions about the evolution of the modern solar system, "says Galeazzo.