AbstractIt is suggested that the outbursts of Periodic Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 are triggered by impacts of interplanetary boulders on the surface of the comet’s nucleus. The existence of a cloud of such boulders in interplanetary space was predicted by Harwit (1967). We have used the hypothesis to calculate the characteristics of the outbursts – such as their mean rate, optically important dimensions of ejected debris, expansion velocity of the ejecta, maximum diameter of the expanding cloud before it fades out, and the magnitude of the accompanying orbital impulse – and found them reasonably consistent with observations, if the solid constituent of the comet is assumed in the form of a porous matrix of lowstrength meteoric material. A Monte Carlo method was applied to simulate the distributions of impacts, their directions and impact velocities.
