Asteroid likely to miss Mars - Democratic Underground

rayofreason

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Sun Jan-13-08 01:16 AM
Original message

Asteroid likely to miss Mars

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers in Pasadena, Calif., said it is unlikely that an asteroid will collide with Mars at the end of this month.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology said tracking measurements of asteroid 2007 WD5 from four different observatories indicate a significantly reduced probability -- to .01 percent -- that it will make impact with Mars, effectively ruling out a possible collision with the planet.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/01/12/asteroid_likely_to_miss_mars/2145/

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Whew! That was a close one!

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Nihil

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Mon Jan-14-08 05:33 AM
Response to Original message

1. Hmmm ...

> The agency's best estimate as of Thursday was that 2007 WD5 will pass
> about 16,000 miles from the planet's center at around 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 30.
>
> "With 99.7 percent confidence, the pass should be no closer than 4,000 km
> (2,485 miles) from the surface," the lab said in a release.

That should perturb 2007WD5's orbit a bit ... methinks someone should be
monitoring that little chap quite closely to ensure that they get their
"estimates" as accurate as possible for where it will end up ...

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Ian David

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Mon Jan-14-08 08:56 AM
Response to Original message

2. And how will Bush claim credit for this? n/t

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