Asteroid Making Its Way Toward Mars

Scientists Eagerly Anticipate The Possibility Of An Asteroid-Planet Collision

(AP)  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 crash down 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.

[motherhen11]

Tim lives above my garage. I think Tim''s uncle might be a Martian.

[red1530]

cyberus, the United States has the technology to detect if the explosion was from the ground, an ICBM, or an asteroid.

[thgdriver]

Same old, same old, the libs claim GWB congers up hurricanes, now it''s big rocks from outer space, give it a rest!!!

[cyberus-2009]

denn034 - Your observation makes not sense at all. Mars and Mercury occupy orbits around the sun which are outside and inside the orbit of Earth, respectively. Both these planets are far smaller and less massive then Earth, so their gravity wells are substantially less pulling that those of our planet.

Posted by CO2Max at 09:17 PM : Dec 21, 2007
***************

Shhh .. lets not let facts blind us ... this is the Land of King W so god won''t let anything happen (sarcasm intended).

It will take a significant impact incident on a "modern" city to wake up the politicians to the need for a serious Sky Watch.
Oh and it will have to have been tracked in by radar otherwise it will be called a terrorist attack.

[red1530]

The odds of 99942 Apophis hitting Earth on its 2036 approach is 1 in 45,000.

[jonathan1cas]

Look up:

99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)

This one is Earth bound. We might have a close approach that is naked eye visible or impacts Earth.

Jonathan Cassidy, public observing manager
RPI Hirsch Observatory
[e-mail]

[jonathan1cas]

Look up: 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)

Earth is currently in the cross hairs of a rock. This one is bigger than 2007 WD5.

Jonathan Cassidy, public observing manager
RPI Hirsch Observatory
[e-mail]

[co2max]

Earth IS in the cross-hairs. This is not to sound the alarm, but just a notice that we need to take a look and find out what is out there. Even if we know that these strikes on Earth only take place about 1-3 times per century and 2/3 of those are in the oceans, while 1/3 of the remainder may strike in uninhabited areas, is it worth the risk?
The earth is estimated to gain approximately 10,000 tons per year due to micro-meteor (and larger) astronomical influx. Nearly all are detrital material left over from atmosphere obliteration, but many are not yet leave no noticable trace. A few do hit the earth and once in a while, a big one hits that deserves attention, and prevention--if possible.
If we don''t know what''s coming at us, we won''t have an opportunity to prevent the problem these objects pose.

[red1530]

Klingon69 the asteroid is about the size of the one that hit Siberia in 1908 so it would be bad news if it was Earth in the cross hairs.

[klingon69]

One month notice of a (newly discovered hunk of space rock) hitting MARS . How much time would we need to get out of the way of something like this ? How do we stop this from happening to earth ?
Posted by wolf563 at 06:16 AM : Dec 21, 2007
Earth gets hit many times each year. Ususally most objects either burn completely up in the atmosphere, or burn off enough matter that the size is miniscule. Mars lacking an atmosphere, or one so thin,the scientists can see what kind of damage can be caused, and it could help in future earth-strikes.