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SundayFunday 
LSU Fan
Member since Sep 2011
3058 posts
| Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:21 am)
quote:
There is a chance that the comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), discovered in the beginning of 2013, might collide with Mars. At the moment, based on the observation arc of 74 days, the nominal close approach distance between the red planet and the comet might be as little as 0.00073 AU, that is approximately 109,200 km! Distance to Mars’ natural satellite Deimos will be smaller by 6000 km, making it 103,000 km. On the 19th October 2014, the comet might reach apparent magnitude of -8…-8.5, as seen from Mars! Perhaps it will be possible to accuire high-resolution images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
quote:
Since C/2013 A1 is a hyperbolic comet and moves in a retrograde orbit, its velocity with respect to the planet will be very high, approximately 56 km/s. With the current estimate of the absolute magnitude of the nucleus M2 = 10.3, which might indicate the diameter of over 50 km, the energy of impact might reach the equivalent of staggering 2×10¹º megatonnes! This kind of event can leave a crater 500 km across and 2 km deep.
LINK
Good thing we just spent a few billion sending a robot there to see whats a few centimeters deep in a rock. 
This post was edited on 2/25 at 8:28 am
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7thWardTiger 
Rice Fan
H. T. Newell Field
Member since Nov 2009
20241 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:24 am to SundayFunday)
Forgot the link
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windriver
San Diego State Fan
West Monroe/San Diego
Member since Mar 2006
8656 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:25 am to SundayFunday)
good
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Displaced
LSU Fan
Member since Dec 2011
8552 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:26 am to SundayFunday)
there are a lot of "can" "may" "mights"s in there.
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TigersRuleTheEarth 
LA-Lafayette Fan
Laffy
Member since Jan 2007
26727 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:27 am to SundayFunday)
quote:
There is a chance that the comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), discovered in the beginning of 2013, might collide with Mars. At the moment, based on the observation arc of 74 days, the nominal close approach distance between the red planet and the comet might be as little as 0.00073 AU, that is approximately 109,200 km!
This is scary. This means that unless we catch a celestial object coming towards Earth farther than a year out we probably won't know if it will impact us.
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mt1
LSU Fan
Lakeview
Member since Nov 2006
5237 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:29 am to TigersRuleTheEarth)
Kodak moment
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AUCE05 
Auburn Fan
Member since Dec 2009
5756 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:30 am to TigersRuleTheEarth)
quote:
This is scary. This means that unless we catch a celestial object coming towards Earth farther than a year out we probably won't know if it will impact us.
That's a good thing
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horndog 
LA-Monroe Fan
Member since Apr 2007
10034 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:32 am to SundayFunday)
Im glad i didnt move to Mars now.
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Pilot Tiger 
Georgetown Fan
Washington DC
Member since Nov 2005
50412 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:33 am to TigersRuleTheEarth)
quote:
This is scary. This means that unless we catch a celestial object coming towards Earth farther than a year out we probably won't know if it will impact us.
so let's say we find out that we're going to be hit and completely wiped out
why would you want to spend years knowing this?
This post was edited on 2/25 at 8:34 am
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SundayFunday
LSU Fan
Member since Sep 2011
3058 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:33 am to Displaced)
So, it's Mars, I would love to see that.
Plus lots things we could find out from the stuff kicked up and exposed from the impact
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Dire Wolf
LSU Fan
6969 bushwood
Member since Sep 2008
3945 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:36 am to SundayFunday)
Ya I am rooting for this.
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bunky
LSU Fan
FREE EL GUACHO
Member since Jul 2011
4360 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:37 am to SundayFunday)
Don't be too proud of this geological terror the universe has constructed.
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LanierSpots
Auburn Fan
Senior Sidewalk Fan
Member since Sep 2010
10072 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:40 am to SundayFunday)
Im not worried
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BrownBear
LSU Fan
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2013
120 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:47 am to SundayFunday)
those aliens are going down
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TigersRuleTheEarth
LA-Lafayette Fan
Laffy
Member since Jan 2007
26727 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:49 am to Pilot Tiger)
quote:
so let's say we find out that we're going to be hit and completely wiped out
why would you want to spend years knowing this?
Well, what we will know is that it may or maynot hit us. Why would you want to spend years of your life not knowing for sure?
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hg 
Toledo Fan
Member since Jun 2009
53194 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:49 am to SundayFunday)
Mars: the red headed step child of the solar system
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PBnJ 
USA Fan
in your lunchbox
Member since Aug 2009
2004 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:50 am to SundayFunday)
Someone covert all of that to American measurements pleaae
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TigersRuleTheEarth
LA-Lafayette Fan
Laffy
Member since Jan 2007
26727 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:50 am to bunky)
quote:
Don't be too proud of this geological terror the universe has constructed.
Is this a bastardized quote from Star Wars?
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ThaKaptin 
Alabama Fan
The Sultan of Swag
Member since Nov 2010
15852 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 8:56 am to TigersRuleTheEarth)
quote:
Is this a bastardized quote from Star Wars?
Finding Nemo actually
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StarSaint
LA-Lafayette Fan
lafayette
Member since Nov 2006
2335 posts
| re: Very Large comet may hit Mars in Oct 2014 (Posted on 2/25/13 at 9:04 am to ThaKaptin)
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