Mars & Comet Siding Spring encounter

[deanm]

A very close shave: on October 18/19, comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1, discovered by our very own Rob McNaught) will pass Mars at a minuscule distance of ~130,000 km.

Mars & comet should be readily visible together in a single field of view.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/

The approach is so close that NASA/JPL/India are arranging for their Mars-orbiting spacecraft to be on the other side of the planet so as to gain some refuge from particulate damage!

Dean

[andyc]

The background to Mars and Siding Spring should be nice too in October, it'll be on the edge of the Pipe Nebula and among rich Milky Way starfields. Depending on how bright/faint the comet is, and if it has anything of a tail, it should be really photogenic for imagers out there.

Another highlight to look out for this month is that C/2012 A1 will pass very close to the Small Magellanic Cloud. It should be particularly close to the globular NGC362 after midnight EST on August 29th. I can't quite be sure, depending on how accurate Starry Night Pro 6 is, but it may actually pass in front of the globular? Definitely one for the cameras! On the following evening (29th-30th) it will be in the middle of a triangle bounded by NGC362, 47 Tucanae and the SMC (image attached, though I doubt the comet will look this big!). I hope someone gets a good image of this, could be pretty even if it's fairly faint. The following night it'll be about 1deg south of 47 Tuc. And the bonus? No Moon to worry about!

[PeterEde]

In the calendar

[rustigsmed]

some great info here - am hoping my site will have line of sight clearance to the comets!

[cometcatcher]

It will be exciting to see the comet in the SMC in August and near Mars in October. I'm all eager! If it's cloudy I'm gonna say some bad words. More than twice even. ;)

[nebulosity.]

Thanks for the info, I was just wondering today when the Mars encounter was to happen.

Jo

[pluto]

Thanks for that info Andy, there should be some amazing images!

There's a great blog post at the Planetary Society today about the planned observations by the various spacecraft at Mars during the comets closest approach. Well worth a read:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/08131401-mars-orbiters-siding-spring.html

[rustigsmed]

any ideas on how to photograph this? a composite the only way?

[Rob_K]

Eek! ;) Mars' actual size when this image was taken was a bit over a pixel in diameter. The closest you could see them from SE Aust would be 12-13 arcminutes, if you had dead flat, clear horizons on the evening of 19 Oct. You'd have to go to southern Africa to actually see the closest apparent approach, a touch under 1.5 arcminutes.

Cheers -

[Suzy]

Thanks Andy for the heads up and the pic. :thumbsup:

Oooh I can't wait to see these together providing it's bright enough at the time for my 10" dob thru light pollution. It's currently sitting around magnitude 10.
Its supposed to reach around magnitude 7 come October. And it's a quick moving comet!

[Neil]

I was going comet hunting this weekend, but they are forecasting overcast skies and some rain(which we do need) Has any one seen it yet, and what were you using? Thanks, clear skies everyone:thumbsup::rofl::thanx:

[Suzy]

Hi Neil, yes I have friends who have observed it but it was very low in the northern sky. We will get better views here in the southern hemisphere come later this month as it rises higher and higher in the in the southern part of the evening sky. We get the best views of this comet.

[Neil]

Hi Suzy, thanks for that. I guess we have something to look forward to. Are you getting the rain up there? I know we all need it, but for those that speak more directly to the controller of all things ,they should ask for more control of the hours when rain actually falls, for instance, between 6am & 7 am, mon- fri, that would be okay, clear skies everyone.:rofl::rolleyes::D

[cometcatcher]

Had 66mm here in Mackay. Sent it down south for you to enjoy. :P

[deanm]

The latest update I have seen shows the closest approach happening after Mars sets (as seen from southern Oz) in the West after midnight on the 19th.

Bugga!

Now will need focal reducer....!

Dean

[Suzy]

Aye, aye, aye, and this comet is still sitting around mag 10 from this post I made back in August :mad2:.

For those who don't have access to our facebook page, I'll pop in today's post I did below - if you don't mind - as it has some good information in it, i.e. a countdown clock for closest approach, live streaming site, observing the comet etc.


171723

*Mars Gets Ready To Greet Its Comet*
Much excitement now as we watch the comet getting closer & closer for its Oct. 19th closest approach to Mars at a distance of only 139,000km.
Images like this one taken by IceInSpace member, Kevin Parker, are indeed very exciting to see, as it shows the comet at only two days away from Mars!

The comet is on left of the pic, circled.
Mars is the bright golden object on the far right.
Image Taken: 17/1/014 at 1000UT.
10 x 60 seconds, ED80 at F4.4, Pentax K-5.

Keep an eye on the countdown ticker here for its closest approach:
http://www.cometcampaign.org/

Time of closest approach:
October 19th 18.27 GMT

If you'd like to have a go at observing the comet through a telescope, it may be tricky. It's still currently sitting around magnitude 10 and Mars will likely over power the comet in brightness. A moderate sized telescope and a dark sky will be helpful.

Here in Australia, the time of closest approach will be at 4.30am AEST, 20th Oct. Unfortunately for us, Mars will be well and truly below our horizon at that time. But have a go at trying to glimpse it earlier in the evening. And send us your images if you're out taking pics!

As the article below explains so well: "While small telescopes and even large binoculars can bring stars as faint as magnitude 10 into view, keep in mind that a star is a sharp point of light, while the comet will likely be a wispy smudge whose contrast might not be much different than the background sky behind it."

How to See It in Telescopes:
http://www.space.com/27444-comet-siding-spring-mars-skywatching.html?adbid=101524004044 76466&adbpl=fb&adbpr=17610706465&cmpid=514630_20141017_33768697

The Virtual Telescope will be hosting the event live:
http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

-Suzy.

[kkara4]

Thanks Suzy, can you link to your facebook page? Ive tried to search for it but cant find it (tbh i didnt even know what keywords to use lol). Im still in two minds about whether to use my 300mm lens, 300 + 2xtc, or the telescope to image tonight (no focal reducer :(). i will have to do some separation distance estimates in stellarium i suppose

[ZeroID]

I've setup to try and get Mars and Siding Springs this evening. It will be low in my west, possibly behind trees. The weather is about to turn wet tomorrow so incoming clouds are a strong possibility this evening. DSLR on the 80 f11 or I'll switch to the ZWO ASI 120 if that doesn't work too well.
Fingers crossed .

[Suzy]

The IceInSpace facebook page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/iceinspace

:)

Brent & KKara4- good luck for tonight, I hope it clears up for you. Could be touch and go here in Brisbane- patchy clouds at the moment.

[kkara4]

it will be a clear evening Suzy, dont worry ;).

All contingency plans in place. if i cant polar align, ill piggy back my camera and go for 300mm, and will test for 300 + 2x tc at f/2.8 and f/5.6 respectively. that should be fairly immune to polar align error over 30secs - 1 minute but will see!

[ZeroID]

Clouds, thick clouds, horizon to horizon ... :sadeyes: :shrug: I've just shut the Ob down :(

[Amaranthus]

Completely cloudy here too, alas... :(

[PeterEde]

High clouds. Shooting now but not sure what I'll see

[Terry B]

Perfectly clear here. I opened the observatory up just on dusk. I then got a phone call calling me in to work for an emergency so I closed it all up again. I'm still at work. :sadeyes:

[ZeroID]

Woke up this morning to almost clear skies again ...perfiddy weather !!

[ZeroID]

Anyone got any pix to show for it ?

[kkara4]

Plenty Brent, have a look in the Solar System section

[cometcatcher]

Cloudy here for the most part. By the time a gap appeared it was too low.