Smacking Mars
Ever hear of 2007 WD5? It’s all over the news right now, so I’m probably not telling you anything new about it, but just in case you’ve been out holiday shopping or traveling or hiding under a rock, here’s the scoop. 2007 WD5 is a 164-foot-wide asteroid that is moving in an orbit that will cross Mars’s orbital path in late January. It comes close enough to Mars that it will pass within 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) of the planet. It’s possible, although not likely, that this thing could actually smack into Mars’s surface. The chances are about 1 in 75. If it did, this rock (traveling at 30,000 miles per hour) would dig out a crater about the same size as the one that the Opportunity rover is exploring right now.