Asteroid to hit Mars

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Orleander, Dec 21, 2007.

  1. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Would this asteroid hit be different than a meteor hit? Is this going to be like the one that hit Jupiter years ago?

    Asteroid could hit Mars in January

    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.

    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.

    Scientists tracking the asteroid, currently halfway between Earth and Mars, initially put the odds of impact at 1 in 350 but increased the chances this week. 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 will probably hit 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 1994, 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.
     
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  3. SW fan Registered Member

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    I think that this would be somthing cool to watch but how do we watch it?
     
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  5. Myles Registered Senior Member

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  7. SW fan Registered Member

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    cool and what are the chances that this will happen?
    Because if thier decent then i think that ill give it a try.
     
  8. blobrana Registered Senior Member

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    There are a few orbiters already in orbit around Mars, so it would be possible to image the asteroid approach, and perhaps image the crater if it hit.
     
  9. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Not at all like the COMET that hit Jupiter. This is an ASTEROID to begin with

    and they aren't sure it will hit Mars at all. The difference is that asteroids

    are solid objects where comets are made of ice.
     
  10. blobrana Registered Senior Member

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    If it doesn't hit Mars there is a chance it`ll hit The Earth in the 23rd October, 2011.
    But it is not too big so hopefully it isn't going to make to much of a impact (if it hits).
     
  11. John99 Banned Banned

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    Well F*** mars then.
     
  12. Myles Registered Senior Member

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  13. Read-Only Valued Senior Member

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  14. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I think the article said 75:1
    How are those odds? Good?
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    how would it compare to a meteor?
     
  16. USS Exeter unamerican american Registered Senior Member

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    Wow, an asteroid hitting mars, now that would be interesting, better turn on the rovers, they will certainly record the event.
     
  17. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    can you imagine if it hit a rover? lol
     
  18. Myles Registered Senior Member

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  19. Myles Registered Senior Member

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  20. Myles Registered Senior Member

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  21. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    From the size of it, which isn't that large to begin with, it will be like a 15 to

    20 kiloton a bomb explosion. A meteor is an asteroid that enters the

    atmosphere.
     
  22. Read-Only Valued Senior Member

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    No, the rovers aren't designed to look skyward and it would be pure luck if they happened to be looking at the proper part of the horizon AND not be be blocked by some mountain or other surface feature. Remember - they sit VERY low on the surface! However, there are currently some orbiters that might very well see the impact.

    So it would be MUCH more correct to say that there's likely NO chance the rovers would record it.
     
  23. blobrana Registered Senior Member

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    "If the asteroid hits Mars we'll get a great look at the crater within a few days of impact" - HiRISE principal investigator Alfred S. McEwen of the UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

    Read more
     

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