C/2013 A1: The Great Comet, Comet Siding Spring: A Close Encounter with Mars October. 19. 2014

Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will make a very close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, 2014. Passing at a distance of only 87,000 miles (by comparison that’s little more than 1/3 the distance between Earth and our moon), it’ll be a near miss of the Red Planet. Find out how NASA’s Mars orbiters will evade the onslaught of dust particles from the comet.

Courtesy of NASA JPL

A comet is due to make a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, allowing scientists an unprecedented look at the comet as it flies by the Red Planet. Comet Siding Spring will fly about 83,000 miles (132,000 kilometers) from Mars on Oct. 19.  

Several spacecraft from NASA, Europe and India will track the comet’s approach  from their positions in orbit around Mars, while NASA’s Curiosity and Opportunity rover attempt to spot the comet from the Martian surface. 

Skywatchers on Earth will train their telescopes on Comet Siding Spring for a series of webcasts on the icy wanderer on Oct. 19.

Editor’s Note: If you plan to track the Comet Siding Spring with a telescope and capture an image of the comet, let us know! You can send images and comments in to Stargazer Nation at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112543437330458039827/communities/117621785057202253470

WATCH LIVE SUNDAY: Slooh, Virtual Telescope Project Comet Siding Spring Webcasts

The Slooh Community Observatory will broadcast a double feature about Comet Siding Spring’s close pass by Mars on Sunday (Oct. 19). The first Slooh webcast will start at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), and the second will begin at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 Oct. 20 GMT). You can watch the webcasts live in the window below:

http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/comet-siding-spring-swings-by-on-a-close-approach-to-mars

Comet Siding Spring is due to make a close pass with the Red Planet, flying only 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) from Mars. Officials monitoring spacecraft orbiting Mars are maneuvering them into safe positions so that they will not experience any ill affects from the icy wanderer’s dust.

The Virtual Telescope Project will also host a webcast on Oct. 19 starting at 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT). You can watch the webcast here: http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

Comet Quiz – Test Your Knowledge: http://www.space.com/23493-comet-quiz-space-trivia.html