The experiment, in which NASA fired a projectile the size of a fridge at the comet Monday, was an attack on "the holy of holies," Marina Bai's law suit claims, according to Russian press reports. Her suit, filed at a Moscow court, claims violation of her "life and spiritual values."

"In any case, it is obvious that elements of the comet's orbit and associated ephemera will change after the explosion, which interferes with my practice of astrology and deforms my horoscope," the Izvestia daily quoted Bai as saying.

Bai is demanding 8.7 billion rubles (300 million dollars, 250 million euros) compensation.

Her lawyer, Alexander Molokhov, told the Moscow Echo radio that the case is based on solid legal ground, since NASA has a representative office on Russian territory.

Bai originally attempted to have a court prevent the experiment from taking place, but her suit was rejected. After a higher city court intervened, the court agreed to hear the case -- though too late to protect Tempel 1.

The NASA probe rammed into the comet, which lies 133 million kilometersmillion miles) from Earth, early Monday as part of an experiment that scientists hope will help reveal how the Universe was formed.

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