Well, Mars-shattering, actually. CNN reports that NASA has determined that there is a small asteroid headed towards Mars which, at the moment, has a 1-in-75 chance of hitting the planet. Those are pretty good odds for an asteroid collision. They also say that the current path would put the point of impact not too far from the current position of one of the two Martian rovers still scurrying around on the surface of the planet. They haven’t quite admitted it, but they are actually pissing their pants with excitement about the opportunity to observe a significant asteroid impact from space AND the surface. As the asteroid gets closer, they expect that the chance of impact will decrease substantially, but they’re hoping for it anyway.
Earlier this week, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories published the results of a study that used a supercomputer to develop a new model of the circumstances of the impact of the Tunguska asteroid in Siberia in the early 20th century. Their conclusion is that the asteroid was much smaller than was earlier believed, and the force of the explosion thus smaller than originally thought, but that the likelihood of collisions with smaller objects is statistically more likely — in other words, one big asteroid probably won’t kill us all, but the chance of being hit by smaller ones is a lot higher and they are still BAD NEWS. Be sure to look at the linked videos at the bottom of that Sandia Labs link, they’re very cool.
