Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
"HUBBLE SEES JETS IN MARS COMET: Later this year, Mars is going to have a close encounter with a comet. On Oct. 19, 2014, Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) will buzz the Red Planet about 10 times closer than any known comet has ever flown past Earth. Mars could actually find itself inside the comet's extended atmosphere as the comet passes by only 138,000 km away. Needless to say, NASA is watching carefully."
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
"Indeed, meteoroids from the comet could hit NASA's Mars orbiters and damage them even as the orbiters try to study the comet. The level of risk won't be known for months, but NASA is already evaluating possible precautionary measures. Data from Hubble and other observatories in the months ahead will clarify the dangers."
Last comet to hit a planet was Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacting Jupiter. Had that hit Earth, we wouldn't be here.
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
"Indeed, meteoroids from the comet could hit NASA's Mars orbiters and damage them even as the orbiters try to study the comet. The level of risk won't be known for months, but NASA is already evaluating possible precautionary measures. Data from Hubble and other observatories in the months ahead will clarify the dangers."
Last comet to hit a planet was Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacting Jupiter. Had that hit Earth, we wouldn't be here.
