[meteorite-list] Mars Attacks

From: Greg Hupe <gmhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:14:07 -0500
Message-ID: <078101c8441e$ce224840$0200a8c0_at_Gregor>

Dear List,

Lets say for conversation sake that the asteroid does hit Mars. Would there
be a "Rover Extinction", and if so, should we name it "Rover Ratatouille",
keeping in line with the recent "Mammoth Stew" thread?

On a more serious side, lets say that the asteroid does hit, when would the
next closest Earth/Mars orbit paths be, and would it be close enough for
earth's gravity to pull in some Martian debris? If that did happen, I am
ready for my bowl of "Chassigny Casserole"! ;-)

Best regards,
Greg

====================
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 4:07 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Astronomers Monitor Asteroid to Pass Near Mars


>
> Grey Hautaluoma
> Headquarters, Washington
> 202-358-0668
> grey.hautaluoma-1 at nasa.gov
>
> D.C. Agle
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
> 818-393-9011
> agle at jpl.nasa.gov
>
> Dec. 21, 2007
>
> RELEASE : 07-284
>
> Astronomers Monitor Asteroid to Pass Near Mars
>
> WASHINGTON - Astronomers funded by NASA are monitoring the trajectory of
> an asteroid estimated to be 164-feet wide that is expected to cross
> Mars' orbital path early next year. Observations provided by the
> astronomers and analyzed by NASA's Near-Earth Object Office at the Jet
> Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., indicate the object may pass
> within 30,000 miles of Mars at about 6 a.m. EST on Jan. 30, 2008.
>
> "Right now asteroid 2007 WD5 is about half-way between the Earth and
> Mars and closing the distance at a speed of about 27,900 miles per
> hour," said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Office at JPL.
> "Over the next five weeks, we hope to gather more information from
> observatories so we can further refine the asteroid's trajectory."
>
> NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth. The
> Near Earth Object Observation Program, commonly called "Spaceguard,"
> plots the orbits of these objects to determine if any could be
> potentially hazardous to our planet.
>
> Asteroid 2007 WD5 was first discovered on Nov. 20, 2007, by the
> NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey and put on a "watch list" because its
> orbit passes near the Earth. Further observations from both the
> NASA-funded Spacewatch at Kitt Peak, Ariz., and the Magdalena Ridge
> Observatory in New Mexico gave scientists enough data to determine that
> the asteroid was not a danger to Earth, but could potentially impact
> Mars. This makes it a member of an interesting class of small objects
> that are both Near Earth Objects and "Mars crossers."
>
> Because of current uncertainties about the asteroid's exact orbit, there
> is a 1-in-75 chance of 2007 WD5 impacting Mars. If this unlikely event
> were to occur, it would be somewhere within a broad swath across the
> planet north of where the Opportunity rover is.
>
> "We estimate such impacts occur on Mars every thousand years or so,"
> said Steve Chesley, a scientist at JPL. "If 2007 WD5 were to thump Mars
> on Jan. 30, we calculate it would hit at about 30,000 miles per hour and
> might create a crater more than half-a-mile wide." The Mars Rover
> Opportunity is currently exploring a crater approximately this size.
>
> Such a collision could release about three megatons of energy.
> Scientists believe an event of comparable magnitude occurred here on
> Earth in 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, but no crater was created. The
> object was disintegrated by Earth's thicker atmosphere before it hit the
> ground, although the air blast devastated a large area of unpopulated
> forest.
>
> NASA and its partners will continue to track asteroid 2007 WD5. For more
> information, visit:
>
> http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
>
> - end -
>
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Received on Fri 21 Dec 2007 05:14:07 PM PST