[meteorite-list] Mars Attacks

From: Jerry <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:37:26 -0500
Message-ID: <FB3DB162195C4D49A86AC1DAA2E607BD_at_Notebook>

I think it's 2020 or is it 2016?
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg Hupe" <gmhupe at htn.net>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 5:14 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Mars Attacks


> 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
>
> ====================
> Greg Hupe
> The Hupe Collection
> NaturesVault (eBay)
> gmhupe at htn.net
> www.LunarRock.com
> IMCA 3163
> ====================
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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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>
>
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Received on Fri 21 Dec 2007 05:37:26 PM PST