The comet's tale

Description

The Taurid meteor shower that rains down on the Earth every autumn is the visible remains of a comet that once broke up in Earth's orbit. To ancient civilisations these fiery streaks of light in the sky were nothing less than Gods - bringers of life or harbingers of doom. But what of the comet itself - where did it come from and what happened to it? This video explores both the current deep-space missions that are revealing the origin and nature of comets, and historical myths that surrounded these beautiful celestial phenomena. The surprising thing is that the myths and the science are often remarkably similar.

Runtime

51 min

Series

Subjects

Genre

Date of Publication

2007

Database

Alexander Street

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