No big bang: Asteroid will miss Mars

PASADENA, Calif. - The possibility of a collision between Mars and an approaching asteroid has been effectively ruled out, according to scientists watching the space rock.

Tracking measurements of asteroid 2007 WD5 taken from four observatories have greatly reduced uncertainties about its Jan. 30 close approach to Mars so that the odds of impact have dropped to 1 in 10,000, the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a posting on its Web site Thursday.

Scientists said the best estimate was for the asteroid to pass at a distance of more than 16,000 miles from the surface of Mars, or at worst, no closer than 2,480 miles.

The asteroid was discovered in November. Initial observations of its orbit raised the odds of an impact to as high as 1 in 25 before further refinements came in.

The asteroid is big enough to have blasted a half-mile-wide crater in the cold and dusty Martian surface, an event that astronomers would have liked to observe.

The NEO program normally looks for asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to Earth.

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This is too bad, it would have been interesting to see a collision of that magnitude.

Star Trek (2008) in 2008

A look ahead at the year to come and what to expect from JJ Abrams and the Star Trek (2008) crew.

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My Zlio Shop

As you can see by the changes on my blog, I have opened a shop with Zlio. I have a variety of items listed and will add others as time permits and new items are added to Zlio.

Look through my items and buy, buy, buy! Enjoy!

Footprints seen around Mt.Everest stoke Yeti mystery

By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A U.S.-based television channel investigating the existence of the legendary Yeti in Nepal has found footprints similar to those said to be that of the abominable snowman, the company said on Friday. A team of...

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Tancredo calls immigration police on illegals in the Capitol building

Sen Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) has proposed the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow “certain long-term undocumented immigrant children to go to college or join the military, and planned a briefing in the Capitol building. Congressman Tancredo (R-Colorado) discovered that illegals would be there, and called INS to be on the lookout.

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