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NASA Snaps Shot of Mars-Bound Comet

Posted by samzenpus on from the that's-a-close-one dept.

coondoggie (973519) writes "NASA today released images of a comet that will make a pass within 84,000 miles of Mars — less than half the distance between Earth and the moon. NASA said the Hubble Space Telescope captured the image of comet C/2013 A1, also called Siding Spring, at a distance of 353 million miles from Earth. Hubble can't see Siding Spring's icy nucleus because of its minuscule size. The nucleus is surrounded by a glowing dust cloud that measures roughly 12,000 miles across, NASA said."

2 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. In The Grande Scheme of Things... by rmdingler · · Score: 5, Insightful
    We have the ability as a sentient race to capture and view an image 353 million miles from our friggin' planet.... and as a people, we're still fascinated with tribalism and the Kardashians.

    Though we be a race capable of marvelous achievement, we have not yet come to terms with our inner retard.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:In The Grande Scheme of Things... by by+(1706743) · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...we're still fascinated with tribalism and the Kardashians.

      I think our fascination with them is healthy. They help to illustrate our desire to explore, while at the same time serving as a gentle caution against the more dark, violent aspects of our own humanity.

      And it's spelled, "Cardassians."