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Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all) Darren Drake Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/09/02 Loc: Chicagoland Mars could get hit by giant comet next year!       #5701232 - 02/26/13 09:22 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This would be an increadible event but the odds are pretty small at this point for an actual collision on Oct 19, 2014. Mars will be about 5.7 arcseconds and set around 9 pm local time on that day. Here is the info... http://spaceobs.org/en/news/ Post Extras:       dyslexic nam Pooh-Bah Reged: 01/28/08 Loc: PEI, Canada Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Darren Drake]       #5701274 - 02/26/13 09:47 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Pardon the astrological pun, but it would be amazing if the stars could align to make this happen. Probably wouldn't be great for any ground-based technology on Mars, but it sure would be neat from an observational perspective. Post Extras:       BrooksObs super member Reged: 12/08/12 Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: dyslexic nam]       #5701397 - 02/26/13 10:53 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I would hasten to question where the assumption that the comet's nucleus is some 50km in diameter originates. Currently the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams' ephemeris for the comet is listing an absolute magnitude of +6.0, indicating it to be a very average object. If one takes the nuclear magnitude to be +10.3, it would imply a probable size for the nucleus of more like say 5km, only a tenth of of the size indicated in the article. In contrast, a 50km cometary nucleus is an exceeding rare bird and is what one expects for brilliant comets like Hale-Bopp. As things stand now, C/2013 A1 is certainly no Hale-Bopp! BrooksObs Edited by BrooksObs (02/26/13 10:55 AM) Post Extras:       leviathan super member Reged: 11/29/11 Loc: Azerbaijan Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: BrooksObs]       #5701526 - 02/26/13 12:07 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Poor Curiosity. Post Extras:       Astrojensen Post Laureate Reged: 10/05/08 Loc: Bornholm, Denmark Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: leviathan]       #5701575 - 02/26/13 12:27 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Now THAT would be a cool event to see - from Earth! Clear skies! Thomas, Denmark Post Extras:       Mike7Mak Pooh-Bah Reged: 12/07/11 Loc: New York Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Astrojensen]       #5701866 - 02/26/13 03:22 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Careful what you wish for. Post Extras:       Astrojensen Post Laureate Reged: 10/05/08 Loc: Bornholm, Denmark Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Mike7Mak]       #5701884 - 02/26/13 03:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Careful what you wish for. I think you misunderstood me. What I meant was that a comet impact on Mars was a cool event to watch from (the safe and distant) Earth! Clear skies! Thomas, Denmark Post Extras:       Mike7Mak Pooh-Bah Reged: 12/07/11 Loc: New York Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Astrojensen]       #5701915 - 02/26/13 03:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Quote: Careful what you wish for. I think you misunderstood me. What I meant was that a comet impact on Mars was a cool event to watch from (the safe and distant) Earth! Clear skies! Thomas, Denmark Lol, no I got you. 'Careful what you wish for' is just a superstitious saying that warns against potential unintended consequences of wishes granted. I agree it would be cool to witness an impact on a rocky planet. Oops. Post Extras:       Dave Mitsky Postmaster Reged: 04/08/02 Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Astrojensen]       #5701916 - 02/26/13 03:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   There's more on C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) at http://www.universetoday.com/100298/is-a-comet-on-a-collision-course-with-mars/ Dave Mitsky Post Extras:       Astrojensen Post Laureate Reged: 10/05/08 Loc: Bornholm, Denmark Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Mike7Mak]       #5702017 - 02/26/13 04:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Lol, no I got you. 'Careful what you wish for' is just a superstitious saying that warns against potential unintended consequences of wishes granted. And I got that as well. We have the same saying in Danish, or almost. Quote: I agree it would be cool to witness an impact on a rocky planet. Oops. Careful, now! It was pretty dang close to a big one just last week. Russian handymen had a field day, though. Clear skies! Thomas, Denmark Post Extras:       krp super member Reged: 11/10/10 Loc: Central Illinois Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Astrojensen]       #5702200 - 02/26/13 06:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wow, this would be exciting to see from earth. The two website above are saying magnitude -4 or -8 as seen from the surface of Mars. Are there an estimates for the apparent magnitude as seen from earth? I know it's probably too early to tell. Post Extras:       Centaur Vendor Reged: 07/12/04 Loc: Chicago Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Darren Drake]       #5702390 - 02/26/13 08:16 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the heads-up, Darren! I’ve created a diagram with an “overhead” view of C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), Mars, Earth and Sun. It’s for the months surrounding the comet’s encounter with Mars. It can be seen from the bottom of my comets webpage: www.CurtRenz.com/comets Post Extras:       Centaur Vendor Reged: 07/12/04 Loc: Chicago Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: krp]       #5702454 - 02/26/13 08:52 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Are there an estimates for the apparent magnitude as seen from earth? I know it's probably too early to tell. By utilizing the current JPL orbital elements, I estimate it will reach a peak magnitude of +7.7 for earthbound observers on 2014 SEP 10. It should be closest to Earth at 0.89 AU on 2014 SEP 05. Post Extras:       azure1961p Postmaster Reged: 01/17/09 Loc: USA Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Centaur]       #5702495 - 02/26/13 09:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The only chilling thing to me about this is that it brings *home* the reality these things are still perilous if even remotely. I would have to believe though if this thing hit - Curiosity wouldn't be the close of the current Mars effort and possibly CURIOSITY II would be made and sent to investigate the freshly excavated (if fused and burnt) material from the hit. It would be tremendous Ill say that. I'd have to believe its extend our Mars program. Pete Post Extras:       RLTYS Post Laureate Reged: 12/18/04 Loc: New York (Long Island) Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Darren Drake]       #5702974 - 02/27/13 07:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Just read the article. It would certinly be cool to watch but how would it affect our Mars landers? Rich (RLTYS) Post Extras:       Tonk Postmaster Reged: 08/19/04 Loc: Leeds, UK, 54N Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: RLTYS]       #5703011 - 02/27/13 07:55 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   An object with a current orbit uncertainty spread of > 600,000 km aiming at a planet 6,800 km wide - humm Which part of the uncertainly spread is Mars currently in? Elenin doesn't say but my bet its in the tail out at the << 0.001% mark :cynic: :moi: Post Extras:       BSJ scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 12/22/08 Loc: Grand Isle, VT Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Tonk]       #5703193 - 02/27/13 10:22 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I loaded the comet data into Stellarium and "went" to the comet (CTRL-G), for a ride along, and then cetered on Mars. Kinda neat to see how close Mars will be to the comet, and how quickly it's moving. Even at normal speed... Post Extras:       Special Ed Postmaster Reged: 05/18/03 Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Tonk]       #5703999 - 02/27/13 06:30 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: An object with a current orbit uncertainty spread of > 600,000 km aiming at a planet 6,800 km wide - humm Which part of the uncertainly spread is Mars currently in? Elenin doesn't say but my bet its in the tail out at the << 0.001% mark :cynic: :moi: Are cooler, i.e. skeptical, heads prevailing here? Maybe that's why it's called "space" ? Post Extras:       Tonk Postmaster Reged: 08/19/04 Loc: Leeds, UK, 54N Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Special Ed]       #5704073 - 02/27/13 07:17 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I forgot to point out that even though Elenin estimates the comet diameter as 50 km, others (Bortle) recon that absolute brighness equates to a 5 km object. This is fair as a 50 km object is represented by Hale-Bop. Siding Springs doesn't look like its a Hale-Bop class comet. So thats a 5 km object with a > 600,000 km uncertainty aiming at a 6,800 km cross section .... Post Extras:       azure1961p Postmaster Reged: 01/17/09 Loc: USA Re: Mars could get hit by giant comet next year! [Re: Tonk]       #5704293 - 02/27/13 09:17 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Even at 5k that's still huge . The dust kicked up would be off the scale. I'd bet it'd be visible even in an 80mm. What it'd look like though I have no idea. Between the heat from the explosive impact to the sheer force sending dust up into the atmosphere - . My hunch is its gonna fly right by - but the speculation is entertaining anyway. Pete Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | (show all)

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