Mars May Get Hit By a Comet in 2014

The Slate ^ | February 28, 2013 | Phil Plait

[GeronL]

we saw what happens when a comet hits a gas giant with Shoemaker-Levy 9.... but hitting Mars would be an awesome sight. Could cause debris that becomes another small moon?

[PapaBear3625]

I get an explosive yield of roughly one billion megatons.

That's a big twinkie. </obscure Ghostbusters reference>

[PapaBear3625]

With respect to some possible future comet hitting Earth: some will say that deflecting something nine miles in diameter (or bigger) is impossible.

We don't need to deflect it. We just need to hit it with something that will cause it to fragment enough that most of the energy will be released in the upper atmosphere.

[Vince Ferrer]

Sorry Martians, but I'd love to see it collide. I'd love to see an apocalyptic explosion, from a safe distance, of course.

[bigheadfred]

Could cause debris that becomes another small moon?

I think it means we don't have to go to Mars. It will be coming to us.

[Texas Eagle]

Women and minorities to be hardest hit.

[Salamander]

*Ow!*

[45semi]

Is Washington D.C. too close? Its right on the coast, so any ‘spatter’ would glance off into the Atlantic...

[ansel12]

Mars is the only planet inhabited entirely by beautiful, females, and now earth caused global warming has put them at risk if CNN is correct about global warming and events in outer space.

[GeronL]

lol.

that’d be bad

[GeronL]

ouch

[Revolting cat!]

Martians are all gonna die!

[Steely Tom]

we saw what happens when a comet hits a gas giant with Shoemaker-Levy 9.... but hitting Mars would be an awesome sight. Could cause debris that becomes another small moon?

Shoemakekr-Levy 9 hit Jupiter on the side facing away from us. We saw the flash reflect off some of its moons though, and IIRC the fireball resulting from one impact was visible over the Jovian horizon as it spread into nearby space.

[dfwgator]

[Bob]

In case you just can’t get enough impact news, it looks like Mars may actually get hit by a comet in 2014! As it stands right now, the chance of a direct impact are small, but it’s likely Mars will get pelted by the debris associated with the comet.

If only those darned Republicans hadn't caused the sequester to happen, this could have been avoided.

[morphing libertarian]

Some one warn Sheila Jackson-lee

[Revolting cat!]

[GeronL]

didn’t Galileo get some pictures of the impacts?

I seem to recall that

[GeronL]

And a Google search brings this up...

looks like Ganymede got hit once upon a time