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 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.

Official cop voice:
Mr. RJ001?
We would like to ask you a couple of questions...

let's have a contest and do an animation of what it'll look like. Or still images

I did a touchdown of a lander's view a while back
http://thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/whatsnew/3_6/motion_tracking.html#mars

(Carrara + PD Pro postwork)

Where did you pick up that article, space.com ?

-Philip
thebest3d.com - beyond digital painting

Nasa article:

[http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news151.html

](http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news151.html)
isn't it funny, how that rock just recently passed us by and missed Earth, and now is heading for Mars.  They say if it misses Mars it'll be back in a few decades or years but no worries that time, too far for impact risks.

Apophis 2029/2036(39?) are more worrisome encounters.

[http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/

](http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/)they're awaiting more detailed observations and calculations to see if the 300-400m chunk is going to need a little bit of help for orbital correction so as to not hit us.  

HEHEHEH!!! I did the math. No way is it gonna hit my HAB.
:b_grin:

LOL...was just about to post you a warning Bryster, heh heh heh.. ...

Shucks!

I guess my aim is a little off...

I hope it hits.. would make some spectacular photo's :-D Besides, brysters home is hidden under the ice on the north pole of Mars, so hes safe anyways. I bet he's secretly excited at the prospect of a new booleanesque structure (the crater) appearing on his planet.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1393925

@ Fran,  how could you have missed something as big as a planet.  I gave you the coordinates!

The Bryster is gonna rock-n-roll!!

(I bet it will look just like one of the Bryce rocks too!)

**skiwillgee,
I don't think I'm gonna miss the planet, just The Bryster... darned navigational equipment's gone on the fritz.
**

ROTFLMAO!
:b_funny:

we're going to blow it up...it obstructs our view of Venus...;)

yesterday eve it was so close to the Moon. pretty

I was wondering if that was the last time I'd see it like that.
What if Mars turned into another asteroid belt...

@ Fran, 

That may be close enough.  Shock wave is gonna be awesome.
Sorry, Bryster.  We still love you.

Hey Bryster. You will be able to comfy chair somebody to the glow of super heated rock flying over your hab. Might even be able to aquire a few pieces and give them a tatoo. Oh. by the way, I won't be able to make it. I'm ummm, washing my hair. Yeah thats it, washing my hair.

:b_nervous:

Oh.....er.....Bugger...............!

Everyone states that it could hit Mars--what if it  entered orbit and become another moon of Mars.  I think that that would be something to see and monitor --Plutom

Fri Dec 28, 6:38 PM ET LOS ANGELES -

The chance of a football field-sized asteroid plowing into Mars next month has been increased to 4 percent, scientists said Friday after analyzing archival data.

Though still a long shot, some researchers are hoping for a cosmic smash. "I think it'll be cool," said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Usually when an asteroid is headed toward Earth, I'm not rooting for an impact."

The space rock, known as the nondescript 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. Based on the latest information available, scientists said last week there was a 1-in-75 chance the asteroid could hit Mars on Jan. 30.

The odds were increased to 1-in-25 this week after a Ph.D. student pored through the archives and plotted the asteroid's motions before its official discovery. The new information allowed scientists to improve their calculations of the asteroid's orbit and flight path. Scientists will continue to monitor the asteroid to better predict the possibility of a Martian impact.

Yeomans said he expects the odds to decrease with new observations gathered early next year. The likelihood of an asteroid hit usually "peaks before plummeting to zero with additional data," he said. The asteroid poses no threat to Earth and is closing in on the Red Planet at 27,900 mph.

Should a collision occur, it would likely blast a half-mile-wide crater north of where the rover Opportunity has been exploring since 2004. The impact could release energy similar to the 1908 Tunguska object that exploded over remote central Siberia and wiped out 60 million trees.

*The impact could release energy similar to the 1908 Tunguska object that exploded over remote central Siberia and wiped out 60 million trees.

Good job I haven't planted any trees yet!
:b_smile:

@ Rosemaryr

Awww  gee whiz,  only 1 in 25.   Near misses aren't any fun to render.  

I actually hope it misses.  I would be concerned about any rock that may be dislodged and launched in an eventual earthbound direction.  But then again a near miss may sling shot it into a worse direction also.  Could be a bummer either way. 

I guarantee  the numbers are already being crunched for that possibility.

What I like about the situation, is the mention of "Archival Data!"

Makes you wonder what else is buried in the reams of date that have accumulated over the years of sky-watching, that no-one has gotten sufficient motive to examine yet.

Don said "Usually when an asteroid is headed toward Earth, I'm not rooting for an impact." ... so sometimes he is rooting for an impact... gosh....

Anyway...... 

Quote - @ Fran, 

That may be close enough.  Shock wave is gonna be awesome.
Sorry, Bryster.  We still love you.

He he... Nice render you've got there. I see you also caught the Bryster in the frame, he doesn't look too worried about the shockwave to me... maybe we should have used a larger rock?

Hang on I will get my tennis racquet out and bounce it back to you Bryster.....ummm...did cardinals learn to duck quickly? :woot:

Fran: he doesn't look too worried about the shockwave to me... 

You should see the inside of my space-suit !
:b_scared:

*You should see the inside of my space-suit !

*:b_lipssealed:

Attached Link: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news156.html

@Bryster...

It is safe to go to privy now.  Please send photos of the passing object.

(the object passing that is.... not the object passed)

Attached Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiGH9QNiU0

It is safe to go to privy now.  Please send photos of the passing object.

(the object passing that is.... not the object passed)

:lol:

@ PaulJs:  ROTFLMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I nearly choked!  Lol!

:b_grin:

:lol:

:b_grin: