This today from JPL on the comet nearing Mars: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news179.html patrick
This close approach in October 2014 between Mars and comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring is really fascinating. It looks like the Curiosity rover is in an ideal place to see this comet - - if its cameras can work at night. I've just finished a Starry Night simulation of what this comet might look like to an observer located at Gale Crater on October 19, 2014, and the view makes me drool. On the day of close approach Earth rises before sunrise and shines at magnitude -2.5. At sunset Venus is in the west and is at mag -3.6. A couple of hours after sunset the comet rises in the southeast and is blazing away at mag -4. That's of course an estimate and no one really knows how bright it will be. But it's freakin' CLOSE and the tail could easily cover half the sky. To top it all off, the moon Phobos goes screaming through the sky, right through the tail, west-to-east, and is shining at mag -8, and moving at nearly a degree per minute. Someday, maybe in a hundred years, people will be hosting star parties on Mars and the sights could be amazing. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2013 4:25 PM To: utah astronomy utah astronomy listserve Subject: [Utah-astronomy] More on Mars / comet This today from JPL on the comet nearing Mars: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news179.html patrick _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
Interesting post, Seth, thanks. I wonder if the almost non-existant Martian atmosphere would result in a noticeable gain in the naked-eye limiting magnitude? Those dust storms can be a real bite in the bum, though... On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
This close approach in October 2014 between Mars and comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring is really fascinating.
You would need optical quality gas for your helmets visor.
Interesting post, Seth, thanks.
I wonder if the almost non-existant Martian atmosphere would result in a noticeable gain in the naked-eye limiting magnitude?
Those dust storms can be a real bite in the bum, though...
On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
This close approach in October 2014 between Mars and comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring is really fascinating.
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Dust storms - yep - they'd be a problem. But when the wind _isn't_ blowing, you've got an atmosphere that resembles what you'd find here on Earth... from a balloon at an altitude of 100,000 feet. What's really got me going is what impact (pun intended) this comet might have on Mars science missions if even a near-miss "only" showers Mars with a cloud of comet dust and assorted junk from the comet's coma. That could be a major problem for all those satellites orbiting Mars. It would be a real dope-slap to all of us if Curiosity, which could have worked on Mars for a decade, was blinded or otherwise disabled by a high-speed shower of comet dust while at the same time MRO and the other orbiting Mars missions were similarly knocked out of commission. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 10:34 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] More on Mars / comet Interesting post, Seth, thanks. I wonder if the almost non-existant Martian atmosphere would result in a noticeable gain in the naked-eye limiting magnitude? Those dust storms can be a real bite in the bum, though... On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
This close approach in October 2014 between Mars and comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring is really fascinating.
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
Yes, the debris effect on spacecraft got me worried too, as I mentioned in my reply to Rich the other day. How long will the reactor on Curiosity put out enough power to function, if and when it goes into extended-mission-mode? Is ten years a reasonable assumption, or did you just toss-out that figure? On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 10:54 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
What's really got me going is what impact (pun intended) this comet might have on Mars science missions if even a near-miss "only" showers Mars with a cloud of comet dust and assorted junk from the comet's coma. That could be a major problem for all those satellites orbiting Mars.
It would be a real dope-slap to all of us if Curiosity, which could have worked on Mars for a decade, was blinded or otherwise disabled by a high-speed shower of comet dust while at the same time MRO and the other orbiting Mars missions were similarly knocked out of commission.
The RTG power supply on Curiosity is rated for _14_ years! (It keeps going... and going... and going...) http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/technology/technologiesofbroadbenefit/p... Now all it's got to do is survive an encounter with a comet. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 11:21 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] More on Mars / comet Yes, the debris effect on spacecraft got me worried too, as I mentioned in my reply to Rich the other day. How long will the reactor on Curiosity put out enough power to function, if and when it goes into extended-mission-mode? Is ten years a reasonable assumption, or did you just toss-out that figure?
participants (4)
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Chuck Hards -
erikhansen＠thebluezone.net -
Patrick Wiggins -
Seth Jarvis