The threat of Centaurs for the Earth
(World News Austria)

The astrophysicists Mattia Galiazzo and Rudolf Dvorak from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with Elizabeth A. Silber (Brown University, USA) investigated the long-term path development of Centaurs (solar system minor bodies which originally have orbits between Jupiter and Neptune). These researchers have estimated the number of close encounters and impacts with the terrestrial planets after the so-called Late Heavy Bombardment (about 3.8 billion years ago) as well as the possible sizes of craters that can occur after a collision with the Earth (and the other terrestrial planets). The publication was recently published in Monthly...