Super Comet

Super Comet

2007, Science  -    -  Playlist 16 Comments
8.11
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Ratings: 8.11/10 from 108 users.

Scientists believe that an asteroid impacted the planet over 65 million years ago and effectively wiped out most of all life in its wake, including the entire dinosaur population. Is it only a matter of time before Earth is struck by another asteroid of similarly catastrophic proportions? The hugely ambitious feature-length documentary Super Comet speculates on the circumstances surrounding this possibility both through informed analysis and dramatic enactments.

In the nightmare scenario which is set up in the first half of this impressive effort, the world has been aware of a comet's devastating trek towards Earth for the past eighteen months, but they've been floundering in their attempts to brainstorm a solution. An astrophysicist and his team utilize high powered telescopes off the coast of Hawaii to keep an eye on the asteroid's path. In a feeble attempt to put a stop to the unstoppable, a nuclear warhead is projected into its path, but ultimately fails to deter it from its final destination. Stricken by the inevitable conclusion of their impending demise, the world's population disintegrates into panic mode.

The film's second hour follows the aftermath of the asteroid's collision with Earth. Most of the planet is shrouded in darkness, temperatures reach record lows never before experienced, and all plant life vanquishes alongside a vast percentage of the human population. We follow a few lone survivors as they struggle to improvise means of survival amidst the intolerably harsh conditions and meager tools at their disposal.

The likely implications of such a disaster are supported by a panel of distinguished interview subjects who are peppered throughout the film, including Dr. Alan Harris of the German Aerospace Center in Berlin, Wolf Dombrowsky, a professor of sociology at the University of Kiel, and Dr. Matthew Huber, a climate change scientist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Their stark and cautionary conclusions illustrate how ill-prepared and ineffective we would be in the face of such a disaster.

As pulse pounding as a big screen Hollywood feature, Super Comet is an exciting cinematic experience that doesn't skimp on offering sound scientific commentary along the journey of its gripping narrative.

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Dee
Dee
3 years ago

I always love to hear others tell me what I believe as "scientists believe". I especially am amused that people don't know the difference between belief, truth and knowledge. I don't just "believe" in impacts, "there were impacts". See the difference?

j smith
j smith
5 years ago

Not available in the UK o this site or youtube, removed from both.

DustUp
DustUp
6 years ago

Rather than run toward the asteroid impact location as one non survivalist commenter suggests, it would seem wiser to run toward your congress person to yank the funding for many of these star gazing scientists who feel the need to scare the bajeebers out of people in order to get funding for doing what others do as a hobby who haven't noted such imminent asteroids.

To me, just as likely a scenario when govt is involved, is that they send up Bruce Willis' Armageddon (movie title) oil drill team, blast the asteroid into pieces which then CAUSES a direct hit wiping out earth, when in fact it would have missed. The elites who desire to get rid of most of us, have their protected caverns stocked and ready...

Apparently the elite controlled govt is tired of waiting for such an asteroid and is dusting the planet with chemtrails. Chemtrails are a fact. Take a trip to an area of the country which has no or few commercial jet routes and you will then see them laying down several lines and/or the trails stopping and starting, something contrails do not do. If you can pull your head out long enough, you will see the chemtrails spread out into a haze, something contrails do not do, they evaporate. Or you simply can view the govt documents that provide for these programs under the documents tab at geoengineeringwatch.

If the earth is indeed rotating about its axis at thousand of miles per hour and around the sun at 10s of thousand of miles per hour and the sun around the galaxy... It would seem such a planet with ice, water, and water vapor would also have a "comet tail". As would gas planets. Although I have no fixed idea of what is true. I have many doubts about most things the indoctrinators teach, as do some independent scientists and actual observes of our environs.

Spudfuzz
Spudfuzz
7 years ago

So the planet heats to 400 degrees Celsius (Venus level hot) and people magically survive by hiding in a tunnel and a cave. Very believable.

johnnyringo
johnnyringo
8 years ago

Actual human survival could very well be the most hellish part of something of this magnitude,which would no doubt include most every horrible thing one could imagine with the worst being what could not be imagined....Instead of getting further away from the point of impact it might just be better racing straight for it....Quick 'n' Easy.

T. McGrath
T. McGrath
8 years ago

Some of what is portrayed is true, but much is not. The majority of the debris that rains back to Earth will burn up in the atmosphere, and nowhere near the heat they claim will be generated by such an impact. The debris that burns up in the atmosphere would form a blanket that covers the majority of the planet, blocking the sunlight for months. Where the debris is within the first ten miles of the atmosphere, it will be washed out of the atmosphere within a few weeks in the form of acid rain. So the acid rain will be over within the first month after the impact. However, the debris that is more than ten miles above the atmosphere, in the stratosphere and above, will remain as dust for months and spread across the planet carried by the jet streams. It will not be the heat that will be the problem, but rather the winter the lack of sunlight will create. Most of the plant life (90%) did not survive the last impact 65 million years ago, and that had a greater impact on life than the actual impact.

They clearly did not give much thought as to what actually survived the last impact 65 million years ago. Are they seriously suggesting that birds found underground shelters? Why did alligators and crocodiles survive, but not other marine reptiles? Most large critters did not survive because they required more food. If the critters were small (~10 kg or smaller) they had a better chance of survival because they would require less food.

They also left out the tremendous earthquake that would follow an impact of this magnitude. It would literally shake the world, and the aftershocks would last for weeks. So underground may not be the best place to survive such an impact.

Overall, this was a pretty bad documentary.

sciguy
sciguy
8 years ago

Most of this could be anticipated, which is a plus. However, the simulation could have taken so many other courses, so they should have mentioned. Second, while Schneider may have gotten many scientists to back him up, there weren't many credible sources. Lastly, there could have been more detail. Such a long and detailed video, but it seems that He didn't pack enough in there for the over all length of both parts to this documentary.

soros
soros
8 years ago

It's great the way the French will be speaking English once the Comet hits.... and some people will be glad they have old Citroen (cars).

soros
soros
8 years ago

It's almost as though we in the West want to be obliterated for our "sins".... And speculative movies like these, pumped out by Hollywood, is adding to the paranoia. Just shows how we can't escape our consciences. But I wonder if all people the world over share such destruction myths.

bluetortilla
bluetortilla
8 years ago

Yeah, but it does add to our understanding of the morbid human need for a destruction myth. It's like the modern equivalent of the Book of Revelations; it makes sense to us. While the fact that every life will in a sense end in a catastrophic collapse remains unacceptable, people with placate themselves with silliness like this.

"Will the human race survive?" What? Wow, Shakespeare really did peg down the human heart.

Mozzman
Mozzman
8 years ago

There is no building on genuine premises here. The ancient KT event is a reliable fact, but the giant leap from that to their future scenario is mere speculation and phony drama. As science its a failure.

Wayne
Wayne
8 years ago

I like a good speculative science disaster movie, but what annoys me most is, the script usually calls for the willful ignorance of some of the characters. Characters who are educated first world people who should know better.

bfearn
bfearn
8 years ago

"All life was extinguished" after the comet 65 million years ago.

Not true. I they are going to say this at the outset then the video has no credibility.