Astronomers: Asteroid could hit Mars in January

[Henaynei]

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/12/21/mars.asteroid.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Mars could be in for an asteroid hit.
If the asteroid strikes Mars, it will probably hit near the equator close to where the rover Opportunity is exploring.


http://edition.cnn.com/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif


A newly discovered hunk of space rock has a 1 in 75 chance of slamming into the red planet on January 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 an object that hit remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb and wiping out 60 million trees.

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That is pretty cool, I'd like to see it happen.

This is not a planet-destroyer mind, like the comet fragments that hit Jupiter in 95. But it would be interesting to see the impact if there are any orbitting probes in position to record it.

[icedtea]

I just read that in the Old Farmers Almanac.
An event for astronomers, surely.

[Henaynei]

keep in mind that, unlike Earth, Mars does not have an atmosphere that would burn most of the object away before impact ...

[vanilla8]

That's interesting, especially as Mars is clearly visable in the night sky. I believe it is the closest to the earth now, than it will be for years to come.