Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) close approach to Mars in October 2014

[Carole]

Mars could be hit by a comet with the power of a billion megatons next year, astronomers claim.

Comet C/2013 A1 was discovered between Jupiter and Saturn in January by Robert McNaught at Australia's Siding Spring Observatory and was forecast to pass within 37,000km of Mars in October 2014.

But according to a new recalculation, the comet may hit our nearest planetary neighbour after all.

Researcher Leonid Elenin said there is now a slightly higher chance of the impact occurring.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/16297126/powerful-comet-could-hit-mars/

[mickw]

Doesn't matter

It will be cloudy when/if it happens anyway 

[Carole]

It sort of brings it home how vulnerable we are on our planet.  Imagine if this was the Earth in the firing line.

Carole

[Rocket Pooch]

If this is going to happen can you imagine the media coverage!

Old cheesy grin lefty boy will be all over tv.

Blimey

[Ivor]

It always raises an interesting question if it was going to hit earth would 18 months be enough time to do something about it?

Even more important is Bruce Willis or Flash Gordon available?

[MarkS]

Just suppose Mars was covered in tardigrades.  What would be the probability of a few of them reaching earth alive on a fragment of ejected material after such a collision?

What I mean is, could life have begun on Mars and transferred here by a similar process (though not necessarily complex life forms like tardigrades)?

[Mac]

It always raises an interesting question if it was going to hit earth would 18 months be enough time to do something about it?

Of course it is, You just have to leave the government out of it, otherwise they will take 18 months just to appoint a
steering comittee, just to look at the problem.

Mac.

[Tony G]

http://tinyurl.com/b673mwm

FLIS!!!! forget that special holiday that we was looking at for next year, I think it's Butlins again.

Tony G

[Rick]

Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will make a very close approach to Mars in October 2014

On Oct. 19, 2014, Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will pass extraordinarily close to Mars, almost certainly within 300,000 km of the planet and possibly much closer. Our current best estimate has it passing about 50,000 km from the surface of Mars. This is about 2.5 times the distance of Mars' outermost satellite Deimos or less than twice the Earth close approach distance of 2012 DA14 on February 15, 2013. Since the observation span available for orbit determination is still relatively short, the current orbit is quite uncertain and the nominal close approach distance will change as additional observations are included in future orbit estimates. Currently, Mars lies directly within the range of possible paths for the comet and we can't exclude the possibility that the comet might impact Mars. Our current estimate for the impact probability is less than one in six hundred and we expect that future observations will allow us to completely rule out a Mars impact.

More: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news179.html

[Tony G]

Old cheesy grin lefty boy will be all over tv.

D-ream on.......................

Tony G

[MarkS]

Curiosity will need something more than a "safe mode" if that one hits!

[Rick]

NASA Preparing for 2014 Comet Watch at Mars

This spring, NASA will be paying cautious attention to a comet that could put on a barnstorming show at Mars on Oct. 19, 2014.

On that date, comet 2013 A1 Siding Spring will buzz Mars about 10 times closer than any identified comet has ever flown past Earth.

Spacecraft at Mars might get a good look at the nucleus of comet Siding Spring as it heads toward the closest approach, roughly 86,000 miles (138,000 kilometers) from the planet, give or take a few percent. On the other hand, dust particles that the comet nucleus sheds this spring could threaten orbiting spacecraft at Mars in October.

The level of risk won't be known for months, but NASA is already evaluating possible precautionary measures as it prepares for studying the comet.

More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-026

[Rick]

NASA Mars Spacecraft Prepare for Close Comet Flyby

NASA is taking steps to protect its Mars orbiters, while preserving opportunities to gather valuable scientific data, as Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring heads toward a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19.

The comet's nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers), shedding material hurtling at about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per second, relative to Mars and Mars-orbiting spacecraft. At that velocity, even the smallest particle -- estimated to be about one-fiftieth of an inch (half a millimeter) across -- could cause significant damage to a spacecraft.

NASA currently operates two Mars orbiters, with a third on its way and expected to arrive in Martian orbit just a month before the comet flyby. Teams operating the orbiters plan to have all spacecraft positioned on the opposite side of the Red Planet when the comet is most likely to pass by.

More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-244

[Rick]

NASA Prepares its Science Fleet for Oct. 19 Mars Comet Encounter

NASA's extensive fleet of science assets, particularly those orbiting and roving Mars, have front row seats to image and study a once-in-a-lifetime comet flyby on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Comet C/2013 A1, also known as comet Siding Spring, will pass within about 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) of the Red Planet -- less than half the distance between Earth and our moon and less than one-tenth the distance of any known comet flyby of Earth.

Siding Spring's nucleus will come closest to Mars around 11:27 a.m. PDT (2:27 p.m. EDT), hurtling at about 126,000 mph (56 kilometers per second). This proximity will provide an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to gather data on both the comet and its effect on the Martian atmosphere.

"This is a cosmic science gift that could potentially keep on giving, and the agency's diverse science missions will be in full receive mode," said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "This particular comet has never before entered the inner solar system, so it will provide a fresh source of clues to our solar system's earliest days."

More: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1727

...and other reports: http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring

[Rick]

CRISM Prepares For Mars-grazing Comet Siding Spring

On October 19, a comet that has travelled many billions of miles will come within about 87,000 miles of Mars - about one-third of the distance of the Moon from Earth. Comet Siding Spring comes from the Oort Cloud, material left over from the formation of the solar system. "This comet is coming into the solar system straight from the Oort Cloud. It's likely this is its first time this close to the sun," said space scientist David Humm, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

Oort Cloud material, including comets, is scattered through a vast region that begins outside the orbits of Neptune and Pluto and extends a substantial fraction of the distance to Proxima Centauri, the closest neighboring star. Oort Cloud comets can tell scientists about the materials - including water and carbon compounds - that existed during the formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.

Studying this close encounter will be the largest fleet of orbiting scientific observatories ever flown to another world, orbiting around (and rolling on the ground of) Mars. These instruments will, for the first time ever, have the chance to make close-up observations of a comet new to the inner solar system. And though it will not be the easiest task, the teams operating these instruments and spacecraft have developed plans to take advantage of this rare opportunity.

More: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1728

...and other reports: http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring