Asteroid could hit Mars

A recently discovered asteroid, named 2007 WD5, could hit Mars on January 30, 2008 at around 10:55 UT. There is a small probability of collision with the red planet, about 1 in 75.

The asteroid passed close to the Earth on November 1, before it was discovered on November 20, 2007. The 2007 WD5 is estimated to be about 50 meters across.

If the collision occurs, the asteroid would hit Mars with a velocity of about 13.5 km/s ( 48,000 km/h approximately ), and releases an energy of about 3 MT of TNT.


Read in NASA


JimF
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