The Destruction of Sodom: Asteroid Impact or Religious Fantasy?

Debate swirls around claims an asteroid impact lies behind the behind the biblical story of Sodom.

Sodom and Gomorrah afire, by Jacob de Wet II, 1680.

Did an asteroid or comet smash into a town in modern day Jordan several thousand years ago? One recent paper, published in Scientific Reports, argues just that — but the validity of their…