14 DAY TRIAL // As announced by NASA scientists earlier this month, a comet dubbed Siding Spring gave Mars a really close shave this past Sunday, October 19. Specifically, the comet came as close as 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) from the Red Planet.
Astronomers say that, although this might sound like a heck of a long-distance rendezvous, the fact of the matter is that the 87,000 miles are the equivalent of half the distance between Earth and the Moon.
What's more, the 87,000 miles are less than one-tenth the distance of any comet flyby of Earth thus far documented by science, NASA researchers go on to explain.
Consequently, the comet's flight past the Red Planet is hailed as a very close encounter. Besides, astronomers say that cosmic interactions like the one that occurred this past Sunday only happen once in a million years.
Comet Siding Spring's bio
Comet Siding Spring is argued to originate from the Oort Cloud, i.e. a spherical cloud that surrounds the Sun and that is believed to be chiefly made up of icy material that was left behind when our Solar System formed.
Thus, comet Siding Spring, whose official name is C/2013 A1, is said to be a ginormous ball of pebbles, dust, and ice whose size is comparable to that of a mountain. More precisely, the comet is estimated to be about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide.
Seeing how its consistency is similar to that of talcum powder, the comet travels through space accompanied by a trail of debris comprising material that its nucleus is forever shedding, scientists say.
The Mars fleet helped document the encounter
According to NASA, comet Siding Spring's nucleus came closest to the Red Planet at around 11:27 a.m. PDT (2:27 p.m. EDT). At that time, the celestial body was moving through space at a speed of 126,000 mph (56 kilometers per second).
To make sure they would not be harmed by the debris left behind by the comet, the spacecraft currently orbiting Mars all gathered on the side opposite to the one Siding Spring flew past. From here, they were able to safely observe the encounter.
By the looks of it, the rovers now exploring the Red Planet's surface were also allowed to take a break from their usual working agenda and have some fun watching comet Siding Spring glide through the sky over their high-tech heads.
Together with the rovers, the spacecraft currently orbiting Mars were entrusted with gathering information concerning the comet's structure and its impact on the Red Planet's atmosphere. Whatever information was obtained during this close encounter between Mars and comet Siding Spring should soon be shared with the public, so keep an eye on this page for updates.