Follow #MarsComet #SidingSpring on Social Media
One for @ObservingSpace - Taken at @tzecmaun this morning, Tak E180/EOS7D pic.twitter.com/uDbt4AcN7r
— Nick Howes (@NickAstronomer) October 19, 2014
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Sunday, October 19, 2014, 3:23 PM - Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is flying by Mars today, coming as close as 140,000 kilometres from the planet's surface, and while the various robot orbiters and rovers there are collecting as much data from the encounter as they can, here are the best samples of the flyby from here on Earth.
NASA and the European Space Agency have spacecraft and rovers making all the observations they can of Comet Siding Spring as it zips by Mars today. However, most of the spacecraft will have to turn away from their usual vantage point (looking at the planet) for this, plus duck behind the planet to protect themselves as Mars swings through the comet's tail. This means that they won't be able to use their fastest modes of communication (high-gain antennas) to send data back to Earth, so getting results from the observations will take time.
While that's happening, though, there are plenty of people here on Earth watching the encounter, and here's a sampling of their results so far.
Earlier version of Adolf Schaller's #MarsComet scale diagram had a small text error; here's corrected one pic.twitter.com/3rgW4OUnQZ
— Emily Lakdawalla (@elakdawalla) October 19, 2014
Wonderful! MT @astrostew: Hot off the scope, Comet C2013A1 and Mars #marscomet #sidingspring #C2013A1 pic.twitter.com/OoQoRl8Y7c
— Active Astronomy (@ActiveAstro) October 19, 2014
Comet Siding Spring At Mars, Closest Approach #MarsComet #SidingSpring pic.twitter.com/fjwnHKJ0db
— Stargazer Nation (@STARGAZERNATION) October 19, 2014
#MarsComet #Mars and #Comet #SidingSpring position in real time now! https://t.co/bQpfq3ohgY pic.twitter.com/0qxWcI2FSZ
— TheSkyLive (@TheSkyLive) October 19, 2014
What might happen if the atmosphere of Comet #SidingSpring hits the atmosphere of #Mars. https://t.co/FlzqQ8xWAM pic.twitter.com/FfvppN05ug
— Epic Cosmos (@EpicCosmos) October 16, 2014
An animation I created using #Slooh images of comet #SidingSpring at its closest approach to #Mars https://t.co/Ymdwo6Dso0 #marscomet
— Observing Space (@ObservingSpace) October 19, 2014
NASA's @MarsCuriosity is currently imaging Comet #SidingSpring. #MarsComet pic.twitter.com/a4IA36AaIF
— Epic Cosmos (@EpicCosmos) October 19, 2014
Check it out!! #MarsComet #SidingSpring imaged by Opportunity. Photo processed by "fredk" https://t.co/OzUWLBAlK0 pic.twitter.com/wnSYgzku7h
— Emily Lakdawalla (@elakdawalla) October 20, 2014
EXTENDED MARS COMET COVERAGE: Come back for updates about this once-in-a-million-years encounter, watch for more articles detailing the amazing results of the flyby observations, and follow @ScottWx_TWN, #MarsComet and #SidingSpring on Twitter for more...