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Old 02-26-13, 06:48 PM   #1
TLAM Strike
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Join Date: Apr 2002
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Default Doomsday comet may hit Mars

Looks like Russia got off easy.

http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=19134

Quote:
C/2013 A1 was discovered January 3, so it has not been observed for terribly long. However, current orbital projections for October 19, 2014, has it passing within 0.0007 AU (63,000 miles). But due to uncertainties, it could pass as far away as 0.008 AU… or it could impact. If it does, it’ll hit at an impressive 35 miles per second.
And in this case, I really, *really* hope that it hits. Because it’ll hit *Mars,* not Earth.
Quote:
With the current estimate of the absolute magnitude of the nucleus M2 = 10.3, which might indicate the diameter up to 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.
more info:

http://news.discovery.com/space/astr...014-130225.htm
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