Show 1-In-25 Odds Asteroid Will Hit Planet

Mars had best watch out. One week after scientists with the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena said the asteroid 2007 WD5 had a 1-in-75 chance of hitting Mars at the end of the month, a revised look at the data suggests the odds have grown a lot closer than that.

Last week, based on more study of the asteroid's trajectory and history, those scientists raised odds of the impact to 1-in-25, or four percent. Those aren't overwhelming odds, of course... but it's a significant increase over what astronomers had already termed a close call for the red planet.

"I think it'll be cool," Don Yeomans, manager at the Near-Earth Object Program, told CBS News. "Usually when an asteroid is headed toward Earth, I'm not rooting for an impact."

More updates are expected as the date draws closer -- and it's likely the odds of impact will decrease in the coming weeks, as scientists are able to take a better look at how the asteroid is behaving. The risk of impact usually "peaks before plummeting to zero with additional data," Yeomans added.

As ANN reported, 2007 WD5 is 164 feet wide, and will produce a serious impact event if it hits Mars. Should the asteroid impact the planet, the Mars Opportunity rover will have a front-row seat to the event, as it is presently exploring an area just outside the projected impact zone.

FMI: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/