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Asteroid may hit Mars Jan 30

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  • Asteroid may hit Mars Jan 30

    It would be just too cool if the the Opportunity rover could image the impact, if one occurs.

    Link....



    Scientists say asteroid may hit Mars

    By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer

    LOS ANGELES - Mars could be in for an asteroid hit. A newly discovered hunk of space rock has a 1 in 75 chance of slamming into the Red Planet on Jan. 30, scientists said Thursday.

    "These odds are extremely unusual. We frequently work with really long odds when we track ... threatening asteroids," said Steve Chesley, an astronomer with the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

    The asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November and is similar in size to the Tunguska object that hit remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb that wiped out 60 million trees.

    Scientists tracking the asteroid, which is halfway to Mars, initially put the odds of impact at 1 in 350 and increased the chances this week after analyzing the data. Scientists expect the odds to diminish again early next month after getting new observations of the asteroid's orbit, Chesley said.

    "We know that it's going to fly by Mars and most likely going to miss, but there's a possibility of an impact," he said.

    If the asteroid does smash into Mars, it'll likely aim near the equator close to where the rover Opportunity has been exploring the Martian plains since 2004. The robot is not in danger because it lies outside the impact zone. Speeding at 8 miles a second, a collision would carve a hole the size of the famed Meteor Crater in Arizona.

    In 2004, fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smacked into Jupiter, creating a series of overlapping fireballs in space. Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.

    "Unlike an Earth impact, we're not afraid, but we're excited," Chesley said.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Would be also nice, uhm...opportunity for pictures of an impact from orbiters.

    And not only pictures I guess...such impact will show what's under the surface. Perhaps directly, perhaps by pointing spectroscopes at debris cloud...

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    • #3
      "Unlike an Earth impact, we're not afraid, but we're excited," Chesley said.
      Oh sure, but how do the Martians feel?
      Chuck
      秋音的爸爸

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      • #4
        They're preparing to capture the energy of the impact to re-energize their dormant underground civilization.

        Kevin

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Dr Mordrid View Post
          It would be just too cool if the the Opportunity rover could image the impact, if one occurs.
          And hopefully before the rover gets squished by it as well.

          Originally posted by cjolley View Post
          Oh sure, but how do the Martians feel?

          They are preparing to invade the nearest habitable planet. Wait, what?
          Titanium is the new bling!
          (you heard from me first!)

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