Any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that revolve around the sun, with orbits lying mainly between Mars and Jupiter. Their diameters are usually between a few and several hundred kilometers.
Meteor over Sinai is interpreted by Arabs as a portent of grave events in the Red Sea area, by B. Ingegnoli . . . Buy this art print at AllPosters.com.
Several hundred thousand asteroids have been discovered so far and thousands more are discovered each year. Undoubtedly hundreds of thousands more are too small to be seen from Earth.
Our planet Earth has been bombarded by these celestials bodies since its very beginnings. It is speculated that every one hundred and fifty thousand years a global catastrophe sized asteroid 1 kilometer or more in diameter hits our planet.
We have cataloged 99% asteroids larger than 100 kilometers in diameter, and about half of those in between 100 and 10 kilometers. But we have cataloged very few of the ones below 10 kilometers, and any of those could hit the Earth with catastrophic results.
The disappearance of the dinosaurs some sixty-five million years ago is now widely believed to have been the result of such an event.
An asteroid ten kilometers wide allegedly hit the Earth at the Yucatan peninsula where evidence of it, including an enormous crater (Chicxulub), have been discovered unleashing an explosion in the magnitude of a billion megatons.
Such impact would have blasted tons of sulfur-rich rock and dust high into the atmosphere, encircling the globe and igniting the skies. Fiery debris would rain back down upon the earth, and the skies would be darkened for months, if not years, ensuing what is now called a "Nuclear Winter." Ninety percent of the world's biomass would have been incinerated, and over seventy percent of the world's species would have disappeared, including the dinosaurs. If such an event occurs within humanity's extent span, our species could be obliterated.
This website is best viewed with the latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox. Occultopedia makes extensive use of Flash and Scripting in its pages and interface. Make certain your browser permissions are set accordingly and that you have the latest Flash plug-in for the full experience, proper look and accurate layout. You can do it with confidence. This site does not contain any viruses, malicious software or scripts.
Occultopedia is the genuine article, the original and the best internet index of the extraordinary and uncanny, shamelessly copied by many, but never equaled. Online since 1995 at first in a free web space provider (Tripod.com), and in 1997 finally with its own domain name and hosting Occultopedia still is the principal online resource for those looking for the unexplained, the curious and the unusual.
Occultopedia respects your privacy. As
such, no cookies or any other tracking software will be installed as a
part of this website's original programming. I do not seek to obtain any personal information
beyond what is volunteered through electronic communications
(e.g. emails & forms).
Occultopedia may appear to be a for profit site, but my site is not in reality a commercial one. All of the commercial links are from affiliate programs, and the little revenue I get from these is to pay for hosting, bandwidth that can be quite costly if you have a lot of traffic, graphics and pages and any other expenses related to Occultopedia's upkeep, support, and maintenance. For more details, visit my ordering information page.
Occultopedia is a FREE online resource available to the whole world. Usage of my word definitions and articles by educational institutions, teachers and students alike, is here by granted. Reproduction for profit, and for display in another web site is strictly forbidden, and will be handled as copyright infringement and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However, if you follow some simple guidelines, I will grant permission for limited reproduction. For more information, please consult my intellectual property rights, warranties and disclaimers information page. Support Occultopedia and make it your online shopping destination. If you prefer, you can also make a donation.
HELP FOOT THE BILL: this website is created and maintained by one guy, who also pays the hosting bill. Please donate if you like and/or use Occultopedia.
Participate in Occultopedia and submit a word
definition or article for the occult encyclopedia at my
entry submission
page. If you would like to suggest a web site or page for
addition into Occultopedia's links database, please go to my
URL submission page.