Cometary outbursts – the post‐ Deep Impact outlook on collisions as possible causes

The possibility of impacts between comets belonging to the Jupiter Family and other small bodies orbiting in the main asteroid belt, and the consequences in relation to cometary activity are discussed. The probability of such events and the jumps in cometary brightness caused by impacts are examined. The results are compared with the results of the Deep Impact mission to Comet 9P/Tempel 1. The main conclusion of this paper is in agreement with previous findings, namely that an impact mechanism cannot be the main cause of the outburst activity of comets.