Abstract
THE proposal by Urey1 that tektites may originate through Earth–comet collisions has recently been extended to suggest that the energy released may be sufficient to produce periods of intense geological activity2. But the hypothesis is crucially dependent on the picture adopted for the structure of comets, and Urey assumes that the fundamental permanent heart-and-soul of a comet is a solid nucleus of kilometric size, with activity of the comet resulting from solar radiation and possibly interaction with the solar wind. If that were so, such an object impacting the Earth would not produce essentially different effects from those by a meteorite or asteroid of comparable mass.
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References
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LYTTLETON, R. Encounters of the Earth with Comets. Nature 245, 144–145 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/245144a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/245144a0
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