We are getting a sense of astronomical déjà vu here at Unknown Country: Comet ISON is looming in our skies and already there are rumors of an accompanying spaceship, or even that the heavenly body itself is not a comet at all but a triangular-shaped UFO. Such stories are not presently supported by any published scientific findings.
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In the early hours of Tuesday, August 20, a comet estimated to be only sixty to a hundred feet across dove into the sun, causing a huge solar explosion.
Just before the comet hit, a coronal mass ejection exploded off the sun’s surface. While there is no known reason that there would be a connection between a CME and the impact of a tiny comet, this has been observed before. The CME was emitted from the opposite side of the sun that was struck by the comet, and appears to have begun before the comet struck.
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It may kick up enough red dust to set back planned missions to Mars by several years.
On the Space.com website, Mike Wall reports that a newfound comet will give Mars a close shave next year, and there’s a slim chance that it could actually hit the Red Planet.
According to NASA, Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will come within about 31,000 miles of Mars in October 2014–However, the trajectory of the comet is still not known well enough to rule out a dramatic comet collision with Mars, though that could change.
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That’s the (rather unscientific) advice to Congress from NASA chief Charles Bolden, who basically says that if a large asteroid heads towards a big US city–as it recently did in Russia–there’s not much else we can do. He told them, "From the information we have, we don’t know of an asteroid that will threaten the population of the United States. But if it’s coming in three weeks, pray."
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