It looks like Mars dodged a bullet. Well, an asteroid. 2007 WD5 will miss the Red Planet on January 30, just like most of us assumed it would. Even at best, it had a 4% chance of an impact, but now it's very clear it'll miss. The JPL NEO website even has a cool animation showing how the best estimates of the asteroid position have increased in accuracy over the past few weeks, and now Mars is well outside the region where the asteroid will be. Or vice versa. Whatever. Anyway, too bad. It would've been cool to see it get smacked.
Mars is safe
Mars dodged an asteroid, 2007 WD5, with only a 4% chance of impact confirmed. Discover the details of this near miss.
Written byPhil Plait
| 1 min read
More on Discover
Stay Curious
SubscribeTo The Magazine
Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.
Subscribe











