Astronomers find loads of ice on big asteroid

AP on Yahoo ^ | 4/28/10 | AP

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON – Scientists have lots of ice in an unexpected place in our solar system: an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.

The discovery of significant asteroid ice has several consequences. It could help explain how Earth first got its water. It makes asteroids more attractive to explore. And it muddies the definition between comets and asteroids.

[BitWielder1]

Muddies? Doesn’t it have to melt first?

[Man50D]

I’m sure BO/BS will get right on that project.

[DannyTN]

Crash it into Mars. Do this enough time and Mars gains water and increases mass to retain more atmosphere.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Since the Martian atmosphere is primarily CO2 why aren’t they being subjected to AGW like Venus and the Earth?

[Adder]

Astronomers find loads of ice on big asteroid

Probably helped with that burning pain....

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[NormsRevenge]

name ‘em Clintonoids.. they come with their own icepak.

[martin_fierro]

[HighlyOpinionated]

ObamaBo is a complete UNEDUCATED elitist for not funding NASA for more Space Exploration.

One of the BEST things going in this Nation is our Space Exploration.

But then, that makes us SPECIAL and ENVIED by all the Third World Countries, so ObamaBo has to bring us down.

FUBO.

[SunkenCiv]

Gosh, I was sure there was a sharp difference between comets and asteroids...

...an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter. The discovery of significant asteroid ice has several consequences. It could help explain how Earth first got its water. It makes asteroids more attractive to explore. And it muddies the definition between comets and asteroids.

Thanks NormsRevenge.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks NormsRevenge.

...an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter. The discovery of significant asteroid ice has several consequences. It could help explain how Earth first got its water. It makes asteroids more attractive to explore. And it muddies the definition between comets and asteroids.

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[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

‘Crash it into Mars. Do this enough time and Mars gains water and increases mass to retain more atmosphere.’

Fuel for changing the asteroid's orbit obtainable from Jupiter's atmosphere. Ice in the asteroid belt is the key to terraforming Mars.

[KevinDavis]

That is correct.. Also make the asteroids are small and doesn’t alter Mars orbit..

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Moving Mars a little Sunward might be a secondary benefit.

[KevinDavis]

True, just as long it doesn’t hit Earth.. I wonder what if push an asteroid towards Venus???

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Venus would be great if it was in Earth's orbit one third of the way around from Earth.

[Cementjungle]

Big deal, I just found some ice while on vacation this month in Patagonia:

(the Amalia Glacier in Chile)

[grey_whiskers]

Remember Asimov's short story The Martian Way?

Cheers!

[SunkenCiv]

That was never one of my favorites, probably because (as with others of his stories) he was far too sanctimonious about its significance, even while mentioning that at the time it was first published, no one even noticed it was about McCarthyism. :')

• An Argument for the Cometary Origin of the Biosphere