REAL LIFE NEWS: MARS ORBITERS SURVIVE AS COMET BRUSHES PAST MARS
by Hazed
A comet passed close to Mars last weekend, and the event was captured by the rovers on the planet and the satellites in orbit. You can see a very fuzzy image at the third source link below; better pictures are expected soon.
The comet is called Siding Spring and it brushed past the planet at 125,000mpg. With an icy core about 3,300 foot wide, it comes from the Oort Cloud, considered the birthing ground of comets, in the far reaches of our system and far beyond the planets. It would have been formed over 4.5 billion years ago, and changed very little since then.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter moved position to shelter behind Mars during a half-hour period when high-velocity dust particles created by the comet would have reached its path, so it suffered no damage from the close encounter. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) and Odyssey spacecraft were also unscathed.
Source: http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29665247
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/20/mars_reconnaissance_orbiter_and_maven_survive_comet_flyby/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/24/maven_snaps_eightbit_space_invader/
