Electric Comets

[kiwi]

UPDATE OCTOBER 18, 2014. Hurtling through space at about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per second, Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) will sweep very close to the planet Mars this weekend. It will be less than one-tenth the distance of any known previous earthly comet flyby on October 19 at 18:28 UTC. Although a direct collision with Mars is not expected, the comet’s nucleus is expected to come within 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers) of Mars, or about one-third the moon’s distance from Earth. The closest comet to swing by Earth in recorded history was Lexell’s Comet, at six times the moon’s distance from Earth (6 x 384,400 kilometers or 238,855 miles) in the year 1770.
http://earthsky.org/space/comet-c2013-a ... er-19-2014

Watch LIVE http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/come ... ch-to-mars

[Rossim]

Given that Cassini received a shock of about 200V from 2000km away from Hyperion, do you think any electrical activity is possible between Mars and the comet? Wouldn't it be great to witness the comet scar Mars a bit? With so many instruments aimed at this event and interest being fueled by the Rosetta mission, I think comet Siding Spring's close encounter may sneak in as a very important contribution to the electrical cause.

[viscount aero]

Given that Cassini received a shock of about 200V from 2000km away from Hyperion, do you think any electrical activity is possible between Mars and the comet? Wouldn't it be great to witness the comet scar Mars a bit? With so many instruments aimed at this event and interest being fueled by the Rosetta mission, I think comet Siding Spring's close encounter may sneak in as a very important contribution to the electrical cause.

There may be some surprises. 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers) from Mars, or about one-third the moon’s distance from Earth, is extremely close. Coma can become very wide, and the tail structures can be millions of kms long.

[kiwi]

comedy hour .. are you listening to the drivel??

[Frantic]

Astro-biology ... that's not a thing ...
Water Split into hydrogen and oxygen ... that's not water ...

Anyone have good shots, video or still of this besides the telescopes I was watching on slooh?

[viscount aero]

Look at how the artist's depiction of the comet looks:
http://news.yahoo.com/robotic-eyes-come ... 43457.html

[kiwi]

Look at how the artist's depiction of the comet looks:
http://news.yahoo.com/robotic-eyes-come ... 43457.html

My favourite comment

Wayne G 7 hours ago 4 5
A rare encounter for a graphic artist it appears.

[dodeca]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX4FgTnq ... r_embedded

brillant comment:


The folks at the Thunderbolts project predicted this.

[seb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX4FgTnq ... r_embedded

brillant comment:


The folks at the Thunderbolts project predicted this.

The flare is apparently just the effects of Earthly clouds passing through the frames. If there really had been such a bright flash visible from Earth and lasting for over a minute, it would have been on the news.

[viscount aero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX4FgTnq ... r_embedded

brillant comment:


The folks at the Thunderbolts project predicted this.

The flare is apparently just the effects of Earthly clouds passing through the frames. If there really had been such a bright flash visible from Earth and lasting for over a minute, it would have been on the news.

I agree. It's probably just lens flare/glare. Any discharge in this case would probably have only been in dark mode.

[Rossim]

Let's see if NASA takes a page out of ESA's book and makes us wait six months for some real data.

[viscount aero]

Let's see if NASA takes a page out of ESA's book and makes us wait six months for some real data.

I'd like to see some good photos of the close encounter from the suite of instruments that recorded it.

[Frantic]

My favorite, the #1 comment:

Dimitz 14 hours ago 0 8
Imagine a mountain of baby powder coming at you 35 miles a second!

To me, one thing about comets and asteroids seems incredibly obvious. These are rocks, mostly. Rocks this size cannot form themselves. Therefore they are broken pieces of rock from large, rock containing bodies; which formed in events powerful enough to make rock. If there is an oort cloud, like the asteroid belt, it is composed of broken moons and planets. Maybe that's me being overly simplistic, but it works for me. I'd say chances are low these form in the shape we see them today, the amount of variance and the shear number, it's hard to explain by any means other than shattered planets.

[viscount aero]

Indeed comets are a great mystery. They are unique in their whole "show." They are the rock stars of the solar system

The problems I have with the Oort Cloud model are:

• Without an icy snowy body evident with any comet encounter then the Oort Cloud no longer needs to exist.

• Oort Cloud is alleged to be at least 1 LY distant, is dark, and cannot be seen or detected. It is therefore tantamount to a dark matter way of thinking.

• Comet particles identify an extremely hellish exposure or origin of the comet body, the direct opposite of the corpse-like icy snowball theory that science cannot let go. That again falsifies and eliminates the need for an Oort Cloud.

[rkm]

I imagine we'll get a thunderbolts video on this Mars discharge event. Can't wait to hear Thornhill's comments.