Currently there is a comet that is moving closer to the planet Mars. The comet has two effects, could threaten human missions on Mars, but also at the same promises a rare meteor shower phenomenon which potentially can be watched by us online.
The comet in question is C/2013 A1 also called comet Siding Spring. Comet discovered on January 3, 2013 by Robert McNaught, a comet hunter at Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia. The comet will reach at the closest distance to Mars on October 19, 2014.
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| Comet C/2013 A1 will approach Mars, potentially threatening the spacecraft once a promising view of a rare and devastating meteor shower. (Picture from: http://spaceobs.org/en) |
Initially, scientists estimate that the comet will hit the red planet. However, further studies confirm that the collision may not occur, but is able to threaten anything in the Martian orbit. As reported by the New Scientist, on Friday, December 6, 2013, that when the comet reaches its closest point to the planet Mars at a distance of about 173,000 km or even 89,000 km. For comparison, the nearest comet ever reaching the Earth is within 3.5 million km in 1770.
With that distance, halo gas and blocks of comets that can stretch to thousands of times the comet diameter could threaten any existing around it, including man-made satellites that are in the Martian orbit. Bill Cooke from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama revealed that at 2 hours before the comet reaches its closest distance, the Mars's atmosphere would consist of similar materials 1,000 to 10,000 times the mass of rock types found in the Earth's orbit.
With that fact, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission on the Mars, such as MAVEN, will be threatened. Likewise, the Indian mission which was recently launched last week. Now, scientists are planning to mitigation.
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| An artist's impression of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has a ringside seat for the comet's approach. (Picture from: http://www.sott.net/) |
While there is a threat, there is also the potential for a spectacular show of rare meteor shower on Mars. Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University in College Station said, that Curiosity and Opportunity rover on Mars could record the incident. "This will probably be the most intense meteor shower ever," said Cooke. With today's communications technology, it is possible that a meteor shower can be viewed online on the internet. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NEW SCIENTIST]
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