The NASA Spitzer Space Telescope has observed evidence of what may have happened in our own solar system billions of years ago: a hail of comets sweeping through our system and hitting planets along the way. Known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment" this storm of comets numbering in the thousands, is thought to have deposited water on Earth and perhaps the very ingredients necessary for life to form.
According to NASA, "Spitzer has spotted a band of dust around Eta Corvi that strongly matches the contents of an obliterated giant comet, probably destroyed by a collision with a planet or some other large body. The dust is located close enough to Eta Corvi that Earth-like worlds could exist in the collision zone, suggesting that planets like our own might be involved. The Eta Corvi system is approximately one billion years old, which researchers think is about the right age for such a hailstorm."
Read More About It: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/19oct_cometstorm/
Sky Guy in VA
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