Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Comet C/2013 A1 May Hit Mars In 2014

Posted by samzenpus on from the big-boom dept.

astroengine writes "According to preliminary orbital prediction models, comet C/2013 A1 will buzz Mars on Oct. 19, 2014. C/2013 A1 was discovered by ace comet-hunter Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia, on Jan. 3. When the discovery was made, astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona looked back over their observations to find "prerecovery" images of the comet dating back to Dec. 8, 2012. These observations placed the orbital trajectory of comet C/2013 A1 through Mars orbit on Oct. 19, 2014. Due to uncertainties in the observations — the comet has only been observed for 74 days (so far), so it's difficult for astronomers to forecast the comet's precise location in 20 months time — comet C/2013 A1 may fly past at a very safe distance of 0.008 AU (650,000 miles). But to the other extreme, its orbital pass could put Mars directly in its path."

1 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. The truth about the TSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Over 400 years ago, famous philosopher Nostradamus predicted Obama's election with chilling accuracy. He completed the prediction by stating that in 2016, the TSA will take control of the people in an all-out frontal assault of our liberties.

    According to the TSA documents recently obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, if you "like" American materialism on Facebook, you are automatically added to a watchlist that contains "dissidents and other undesirables."

    Outspoken academics who research this topic have had their research silenced by those in power.

    If you listen to radio waves coming from the constellation of Orion, you will be shocked to hear what sounds like routine transmissions from the TSA -- but why are they coming FROM outer space?

    Perhaps tellingly, several diplomats were barred from the country for agreeing with these claims.

    In 2005, sailors on an oil tanker passed through the Bermuda Triangle on a routine voyage between the Gulf Coast and Africa. They never returned, but the last radio transmission, recorded by the NOAA and ham radio enthusiasts, was "S.O.S. - Bright Lights - the TSA and Tencent."

    One prominent reporter discovered an unmarked surveillance device under his car after he published an article on this topic.

    Wipe the fog of government brainwashing from your eyes and see the truth!