The New York Times published a story about a close encounter Mars will have with comet Siding Spring—and the equipment on the surface of and in orbit of the red planet:
The comet was well beyond Jupiter when [it was first sighted], but ... so-called comet modelers were nonetheless able to predict its 125,000-mile-per-hour path into the inner solar system. To their surprise and consternation, it appeared to be heading straight for Mars, and some of their most precious equipment.
Comet trajectories are notoriously changeable, and more recent projections suggest the comet, named Siding Spring, is highly unlikely to strike the planet or to do much damage to the two NASA rovers on its surface or the five research satellites orbiting it.
Still, on Oct. 19, the comet is expected to pass within 82,000 miles of Mars, a stone’s throw in astronomical terms — one-third the distance between Earth and the moon, and much closer to Mars than any comet has come to Earth in recorded history.
The dust, water vapor and other gases spewed by a comet can spread for tens of thousands of miles, so the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere are expected to be showered by Siding Spring — perhaps briefly, perhaps more extensively. Shock waves may rock the atmosphere.
The sweet thing about this cometary encounter is this:
The satellites and rovers — along with ground and space observatories such as the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes — will offer a front-row seat to the event, which may provide important images and science for days.
We may be in for some very interesting pictures in the next few days and weeks, folks!
(Score: -1) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 18 2014, @11:33PM
Round up all the rag-heads and send them to Mars.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Sunday October 19 2014, @12:18AM
Apparently, this troll needs to stuff a rag in his mouth and put himself on that round-up list. If you're going to be racist or nationalistic, do it with some style dude!
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday October 19 2014, @12:39AM
Trolls should be modded to oblivion, not fed.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Sunday October 19 2014, @05:09AM
For an AC, oblivion is not very far away.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 19 2014, @01:09AM
Thank you, vile infidel! First space colony, pioneered by Muslims! We look down on you from Planet Four!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday October 19 2014, @12:22AM
and much closer to Mars than any comet has come to Earth in recorded history.
Recorded history goes back a two or three thousand years, so that isn't saying much.
Lots of things might have passed closer to earth than comets, and we didn't even notice them because we didn't have the technology to spot them, or the writing skills to record it.
And let's not forget the Russian meteor strike [youtube.com] of 2013, let alone the 1908 impact in Siberia [psi.edu]. As far as I can tell, the difference [universetoday.com] between a Meteor, Comet, and Asteroid has more to do with how close it missed (or didn't miss) than any real difference.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Sunday October 19 2014, @12:46AM
Well, writing goes back at least 5000 years, maybe even longer in the case of the Egyptians who may actually have developed it before the Sumerians. But regardless of whether it's 2 millennia or 5, that's not even a blink in the cosmic history of our planet. It's would be no surprise if no one spotted any close encounter that close to record. And even if they did, it would have to be a record lucky enough to survive. Very little of the written past has survived. But the rest of your point is valid.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tibman on Sunday October 19 2014, @04:01AM
I was living in Germany for Hale Bopp [wikipedia.org]. It was fucking amazing to see that every night and day for weeks : ) Asteroids may be "invisible" but you'd have to be blind to miss that comet.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 19 2014, @04:52AM
From your link, comets are defined by the fact that they're made up mostly of ice, methane, and ammonia compounds that cause it to experience outgassing when close to the sun, generating a fuzzy shell called a coma and possibly a tail. If some object out there doesn't do this when close to the sun, then by definition it isn't a comet. Comets are thus defined not by how close they miss the earth. No comet by that definition has passed as close to the earth in recorded history as Siding Spring is due to pass Mars. Thus the Russian meteor strike of 2013 doesn't qualify as a comet, neither does Tunguska as those objects didn't show cometary outgassing effects as they came closer to the sun.
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Sunday October 19 2014, @08:12AM
Not to pick nits about astronomy, but yes, the out-gassing is one sign of a comet, but it is more a matter of orbit. But as for this:
neither does Tunguska as those objects didn't show cometary outgassing effects as they came closer to the sun.
, it is hard to say whether the Tunguska object was out-gassing or not, since no one saw it, or more correctly, no one who survived saw it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Sunday October 19 2014, @02:06AM
I was curious as to what researchers learned as the fly-by occurred and so turned to Emily Lakdawalla's blog at the Planetary Society. She has some background information and a number of links to resources which are expected to provide timely information: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/10171350-watching-siding-springs.html [planetary.org] and here's a snippet:
She also notes that many of the observations are by devices being used in ways other than they were originally intended (i.e. *real* hacking!), that there's likely not much in the way of spectacular imagery as the comet flies past Mars, and that there's a speed-of-light-delay of 14 minutes from Mars to earth.
Does anyone have other suggestions on where one can current information about the fly-by as well as any results?
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Sunday October 19 2014, @02:53AM
There's always NASA! http://www.space.com/27395-mars-comet-flyby-nasa-spacecraft.html [space.com]
And: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/ [nasa.gov]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday October 19 2014, @03:45AM
Why to people link to the Commercial Space.com after referring to NASA?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.