Friday, December 28th, 2007

Asteroid Heading Toward Mars

The arrow shows the predicted path of the asteroid on Jan. 30, 2008, and the orange swath indicates the area it is expected to pass through. Mars may or may not be in its path. Image credit: NASA/JPL

NASA astronomers are monitoring an asteroid--named 2007 WD5--that is headed in the direction of Mars. The 164-foot wide asteroid is traveling at about 28,000 miles per hour. New data observation data shows that the space rock has a 1-in-25 chance of colliding with the red planet, scientists say. We'll find out why astronomers are hoping for impact.

Guests

Donald Yeomans
Manager, Near Earth Object Program
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, California

Related Links

Astronomers Monitor Asteroid To Pass Near Mars

Segment produced by:Flora Lichtman

Image: The current position of asteroid 2007 WD5, with its orbit shown in blue. The asteroid's orbit stretches from just outside the Earth's orbit at its closest point to the Sun, to the outer reaches of the asteroid belt at its farthest.
Credit: NASA/JPL