- Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:16 am
#8743
Once in a million years: Siding Spring comet flies by Mars
A pristine comet has swept past Mars, passing it closer than one-third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Astronomers had a unique chance to observe the celestial body up close, as such an astronomical event occurs just once in a million years.
At a speed of 202,000 kph (126,000 mph) the Siding Spring comet – a mountain-sized ice ball, accompanied by a gigantic trail of dust – missed the red planet by just about 140,000 km at 18:27 GMT on Sunday. Named after the Australian observatory where it was discovered in 2013, the comet has a nucleus, or icy core, with a diameter estimated at 0.8 to 8 km.
Click here to read more:
Source: RT News
A pristine comet has swept past Mars, passing it closer than one-third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Astronomers had a unique chance to observe the celestial body up close, as such an astronomical event occurs just once in a million years.
At a speed of 202,000 kph (126,000 mph) the Siding Spring comet – a mountain-sized ice ball, accompanied by a gigantic trail of dust – missed the red planet by just about 140,000 km at 18:27 GMT on Sunday. Named after the Australian observatory where it was discovered in 2013, the comet has a nucleus, or icy core, with a diameter estimated at 0.8 to 8 km.
Click here to read more:
Source: RT News
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