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So we could in theory deflect an object away from a collision towards Earth. How hard is it to make this comet hit Mars for sure? Just a thought.
by lambdasquirrel 14y ago
So we could in theory deflect an object away from a collision towards Earth. How hard is it to make this comet hit Mars for sure?
Just a thought.
- eru 14y agoMaking the comet hit should be much harder than deflecting one. Becaues planets are such small targets in the grand scheme of things.
- spectre256 14y agoThe trajectory of this comet makes things especially difficult. It is moving fast, travelling in the opposite direction of all the planets and is coming in at a large angle relative to the plane of the solar system. From Phil Plait's post it will be moving at over 55km/s relative to Mars during the flyby/impact. Simply intercepting this comet is basically impossible today.
- johncarpinelli 14y agoIf it hits Mars, it could help to terraform the planet. The CO2 ice caps would melt and heat the atmosphere. It would melt a significant amount of frozen water in the soil and thicken the Martian air with water vapor too. Wikipedia is predicting a 1 in 1250 chance of hitting Mars. Outgassing as the comet nears the sun could change its trajectory significantly also. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2013_A1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2013_A1