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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Sat Apr 10 1999 - 01:15:23
Marty Levy (rwww60@email.sps.mot.com)
Fri, 30 Oct 1998 08:53:33 +0000
The sci.astronomy FAQ states
"The frequency with which the Earth is struck by such objects has to be
estimated from the geological and paleontological record. At the low
end of this size range, estimates are that such impacts occur roughly
every 300 000 yr; at the upper end of the size range, impacts occur
about every 10 million years."
HyperReal-Anon wrote:
> > What is the probability that a comet or asteroid similar in size to
> > that which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs will hit in the next
> > few months?
>
> a) 0.0000000000014581 +/- 2 in the last digit
> neglecting the probability that dinosaurs are not extinct
>
> b) 0.000000004576 +/- 1 in the last digit
> allowing for the probability that dinosaurs are not extinct
>
> Both answers assume that a 'few' is between 4 and 9. Working is
> an exercise for the reader, as is refuting the false answers in the
> FAQ of alt.astro.dumb.questions.
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Sat Apr 10 1999 - 01:15:23