Felix Sainsbury-Martinez, an astrophysicist specializing in planetary climate modeling, warned that even minor comet impacts could cause severe climate disruption on Earth-like planets. His remarks were published in a report from Phys.org covering new research on the climatic consequences of cometary collisions.

“Even a relatively small cometary impact can significantly disrupt the climate of a terrestrial (Earth-like) planet,” Sainsbury-Martinez said.

The study models the effects of comets torn apart by tidal forces as they approach a star, sending fragments crashing into Earth-sized planets. The resulting impacts can inject large quantities of energy and material into planetary atmospheres—potentially triggering global cooling, changes in cloud cover, and long-term disruptions to habitability.

The findings have implications for both exoplanet research and Earth’s own history, where similar impacts have been linked to extinction events and abrupt climate changes.

Dr. Felix Sainsbury-Martinez is a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds in the School of Physics and Astronomy. His research focuses on exoplanet atmospheres, planetary climate systems, and the dynamic interactions between celestial bodies and planetary environments. He is part of the ERC-funded ATMO project, which aims to advance our understanding of atmospheric evolution on rocky exoplanets.