The American scientist from the National Agency on Aeronautics and space Michael Mamma found that comets emit streams of x-ray radiation, which, as you know, has detrimental effects on living organisms, including humans.

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This is, in General, expect the discovery was made after studying the information received from space satellite "ROSAT", the equipment which was aimed specifically at flying past Earth comet Hyakutake.

It has long been thought that comets have a negative impact on the development of human civilization and, simultaneously, to be harbingers of wars, earthquakes, floods and other social and natural cataclysms. In ancient times from only one kind of comets in the night sky particularly nervous people went crazy.

"Medieval surgeon Ambroise pare about comets flying past Earth in 1528, wrote: Star was so terrible that one only fear people would get sick and even died. It was a light enormous size and color of blood. In the top of it was visible compressed hand, holding a long sword at the end of the blade shone three stars. On both sides of the rays of this comet grouped axes, knives and swords, stained with blood, and among them there came a terrible human face with sklotarnyj beards and standing on end hair"."

Such visions, of course, influenced by the people and convincing them that the Apocalypse is coming. Thank God, the end of the world yet to come, however, says scientist Michael Mamma, people already centuries ago, met with radiation, as even a tiny dose of radioactive radiation or x-rays coming from comets, violate the vital functions of living organisms.

The comet was repeatedly colorful descriptions in the legends and historical Chronicles. "It was shining daylight and dragged ourselves tail similar to the sting of the Scorpion", - informed the chronicler of ancient Babylon about comet 1140 years BC.

Scientific explanation of the phenomenon first tried Aristotle. Not noticing any patterns in the occurrence and movement of comets, he proposed to consider them flammable atmospheric emissions.

The opinions of Aristotle became generally accepted. But because of the uncertainty of the absence of a unified opinion and explanation of the phenomenon of "night of the stars" people continued to regard them as something supernatural. Impressions from the appearance of bright comets were so strong that prejudice succumbed even educated people, scientists: for example, the famous mathematician Bernoulli said that the comet's tail is a sign of God's wrath.

Brilliant astronomer Johannes Kepler spent comets special labour, the Italian Giovanni market and pole Johannes Hevelius realized that comets can not only move along closed orbits, but also for open paths.

Briton Edmund Halley, named after one of the largest comets, was not its discoverer, but became the first person in 1705 understand the relationship between the comet, which he watched in 1682, and some other registered the appearance of comets, separated from each other by intervals in 76 years.

Halley calculated orbit number of comets, based on recently published the theory of Newton. Noting the similarity of orbits of comets observed in 1531, 1607 and 1682, he predicted the return of the comet in 1758-59, that really happened, but after his death.

"Anticommute" spells

Doctors say that with the entrance of the comets in the Solar system, people have seen a surge of mental activity, many times exceeds a similar phenomenon during a full moon. Often these mental processes were in the past, causing all kinds of riots, revolutions and wars. And to ward off the nascent social cataclysm, ancient rulers used even human sacrifices.

For example, the Roman Emperor Nero in 60 A.D. so frightened of unrest caused by the appearance in the sky, a heavenly body, called the comet Halley, that he gave to the slaughter richest of his subjects, spared neither women nor children, if only to escape.

"Many monarchs held at their courts astrologers, defining the character of the disasters brought tailed guests". For erroneous forecasts them, of course, punished by death. So, the Emperor Tiberius stoked astrologers in the Tiber."

Later, with the advent of Christianity, the monarchs of sacrifices and executions predictors refused, having faith approval of the priests that from misfortunes, accompanied by the appearance of comets, protects the ringing of Church bells, the Holy Scripture and Church spell!

In 1453 Turks have grasped Christian Constantinople, cut out of the Gentiles, and desecrating the temple of sacred Sofia, turning it into a mosque. Three years later appeared in the sky Halley's comet. Pope Calixtus III discover her brightest brought over Europe Turkish scimitar.

Seeing that panic covers villages, cities and entire States, the Pontiff tried to calm his flock special "anticomedonal" prayer "Angelus": "o Lord Almighty, from the Turks and from the comet deliver us..."

This perception of comets survived and at a later time. Prayer of Calixtus III lived up to the XX century and was read widely throughout Europe and even in the US in the churches and cathedrals in 1910, when Halley's comet again visited the Solar system, appeared to people in all its deadly beauty.

Nevertheless, thousands of people not believing in the power of the Church spells, said farewell to their family and friends, went to see the doctor with a request to give them an antidote to the poisonous gases, which, as was thought, would have to bathe the Earth. The students stayed home, adults do not go to work. Farmers were shooting lightning rods that they have not attracted to electrical discharges.

In the US, became a mass psychosis. Miners in Pennsylvania and working in the silver mines in Colorado refused to go underground for fear of being buried. In the States of Virginia and Kentucky people moved from their homes in caves, to avoid the "wrath of the comet".

Thousands of residents of the city of San Francisco was filled with rain barrels with water, and climbed in them to escape from the heat of the tail of a comet. Residents of houses located on the shores of large lakes, threw them out of fear that the comet will suck the air above the lake and cause a giant tidal wave.

In the days of panic dramatically increased the number of suicides, who preferred to die on their own, and not to wait until they "will izdarit" comet.

In Russia, where the panic over the next appearance of Halley's comet had happened, but, nevertheless, many also expected apocalyptic consequences, clergy, in order to temper the heat of the " dark forces", spread among the people leaflets with the following incantation: "You, devil, Satan, Beelzebub hell, don't pretend star in heaven, don't you hide your gostima godless, because there is no tail of the stars of the Lord..."

"The nature of the comet depends on the color of her tail

Fear of comets in the past was quite understandable and justified. They was afraid because they could not find a clear and logical explanation of this phenomenon. In fact, the clean sky is the embodiment of eternity, stability and peace. And suddenly it appears all of a sudden something outstanding, bright, tailed, terrible, no similar. Why? Why? Clearly a warning about something, most likely, not good!

The ancient Greeks head with her hair appeared in the sky any sufficiently bright and visible to the naked eye comet. Hence formed and name: the word "comet" comes from the Greek "comitis", that in translation means "hairy".

"Julius Caesar was killed 56-year life and was numbered among the gods not only words decrees, but also the conviction of the crowd, " wrote the historian Suetonius. - During the games, which in honor of the deification of Yulia gave the Emperor Augustus, tailed star shining in the sky seven nights in a row, being about the eleventh hour. And all believed that it is the soul of Caesar, exalted in heaven". So strengthened the belief that comets come over the souls of the ruling persons, and Roman rulers of comets was afraid of."

The appearance of the comet in 1456 coincided with hunger and plague that struck Europe. A hundred years later, another comet before scared of Emperor Charles that he renounced the throne and locked themselves in the monastery Giusto. Queen Elizabeth in 1580 commanded to read in his state special prayer, saves from comets.

Arabic astrology, perfectly studied these celestial objects, considered that the nature of the impact of comet depends on the shape and color of her tail, and the sign of the Zodiac, in which she appeared. The tails of comets were divided into seven classes, corresponding to the two bodies and the five classical planets, which was extremely convenient for their interpretation.

"With the aid of astrologers, the rulers in the past, during the next flight over the earth comets, wondered "life and death". The most "favorite" a celestial body sorcerers and fortunetellers was the same comet Halley, who regularly attend the Solar system. In 912 "she predicted the death of prophetic Oleg, in 1066 - the conquest of England by the Normans, and in 1378 - Kulikovo battle."

The next appearance of Halley's comet near the Earth had to 1607 year - the period of the great Russian troubles, all kinds of political turmoil, the whole sea of innocent humanthe Czech blood and accession to the Russian throne of liamonahan.

"Kyiv Nestor the chronicler describes God beach 1067: "...there was a sign in the West, a star prevelika rays was as though bloody, ascended the evening after solicitacao and was 7 days

It took another three hundred years, and another bright comet, sparkled in our sky, "prophesied" Russia's invasion of the French, led by Napoleon.

The very same Bonaparte, unconditionally believed in heavenly signs, another comet 1821 "predicted" death - disgraced French Emperor died a month after its occurrence.

Several decades later, "returned" from distant space travel familiar comet Halley. And soon after that on Earth erupted first in the twentieth century, world war that claimed millions of human lives.

"They are terrible, but only due to our stupidity"

In 1664 large comet frightened inhabitants of Paris. Talking about the deluge. As written by Russian researcher Y. Golovanov, "the monks decided not to delay the transfer of the property of monasteries, that such a God-pleasing deed was read in that light. It seemed obvious that the days of Louis XIV numbered, but scared to death the king found the strength to encourage scholars from different countries to find out what exactly threatens French throne, what to expect and how to defend ourselves.

Louis few soothing words of the scientist Pierre Gassendi, who said: "the Comet's really scary, but only due to our stupidity. We are the most unselfish way ideas together items unaccountable fear and, not content with their valid disasters add to them even imagined".

Astronomers gathered from all over Europe and, as they could have calmed the king. And the comet meanwhile "Pegase", flew back to Germany, and Louis XIV had finally found peace of mind, and with it the entire French nation.

Of course, some will say that under any major cataclysm that occurred on Earth, can be "far-fetched" anything, including the comet Halley. But it happens to be, what with her appearance in the Solar system on the planet, before it is relatively quiet and calm, there is something extraordinary, extraordinary. The latest example - the most terrible in the history of mankind technological catastrophe - the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that occurred almost immediately after the next visit to comet Halley surroundings of our planet.

"According to astronomers, the next time Halley's comet is expected in the Solar system in 2061 year, so we may at some time to calm down. But only in respect of the heavenly bodies. There are other no less famous and mysterious. For example, comet Hale-BOPP, which is one of the modern "characters", heralding the end of the world. In the West, some believe that Hale-BOPP is dark angel sent by God to us"."

"The flyby of comet close to Earth in March 1997 did not pass unnoticed for many people. In particular, in Santa Fe Ranch, California, 39 people have committed mass suicide, believing that the earth's living beings can be captured by a group of living beings, which are on a spaceship and travel side by side with comet Hale-BOPP."

And if it hits the Ground?

Another trouble which constantly threatens humanity, is if any of comets, which appeared close to our planet, not just flies in the sky, flashing a long tail, and more and fell down on the Ground! Then indeed: write - lost!

Director of the Institute of applied astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Andrew Feltenstein at a recent press conference, the Agency ITAR-TASS, said that the Institute of applied astronomy compiled a registry of potentially dangerous for the future of the Earth comets and asteroids.

"He specified that in the space directory is updated with information about more than three hundred asteroids and periodic comets, representing potential danger of collision with the Earth"."

Information database includes the calculation of the orbits, photometric, information about the size, physical properties of asteroids and comets. Separately the data on speeds of celestial bodies relative to the Earth, calculations of potential energy of colliding with our planet.

"Finkelstein said that during the day with the Earth is moving closer at least one of almost 100 thousands of minor planets, known since the opening of the first in 1801". According to him, the task to be solved scientists in the coming years, is the determination of the orbits of not less than 90% of all asteroids the size of a kilometer in diameter and more, which changed the orbit can come closer to Earth"."

As, for example, approaching our planet, asteroid Apophis, which can hit it in 2036.

"To 2029, Apophis approaching the planet at a distance of geostationary satellites, and then, after another few turns, may collide with Earth," the scientist said."

"And adds that there's a certain probability: if its trajectory will pass through the gates of approximately 1.5 km, then in 2036, it is precisely what if something gets on us"."

Speaking about the possible means of struggle against asteroid and how humanity can prevent a catastrophe, Finkelstein said that ready money yet, although there are different productive ideas...

Gennady FEDOTOV