Toutatis

We are all transient inhabitants of a fragile planet. In 1994, comet Shoemaker-Levy hurtled straight into Jupiter. For the first time in history, astronomers were eyewitnesses to a cosmic collision, the force of which would have destroyed the Earth. It is to avoid such an eventuality that scientists are keeping a watchful eye on the trajectory of asteroids such as Toutatis, which will just miss us in the year 2004, and continue on its way. In all probability, no giant asteroid will threaten us in the near future. But since scientists can only track down a small proportion of the objects circulating in the cosmos, they cannot say for certain. The renowned scientists featured in this film are thus both uneasy and hopeful. These discoverers of comets communicate their passion for the stars--so close and yet so far away from us.