File:PIA18592-MarsOpportunityRover-CometSidingSpringFlyby-20141019.jpg

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English: October 20, 2014

Mars Rover Opportunity's View of Passing Comet (Short Exposure)

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA18592

Researchers used the Pancam on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to capture this view of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it flew near Mars on Oct. 19, 2014.

Researchers used the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to capture this 10-second-exposure view of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it passed near Mars on Oct. 19, 2014.

This image was taken about two-and-a-half hours before the closest approach of the comet's nucleus to Mars. The sky was still relatively dark, before Martian dawn. At the time of closest approach, the morning sky was too bright for observation of the comet.

The comet, some nearby stars, and some effects of cosmic rays hitting the camera's light detector are labeled. Figure A is an unannotated version of the image.

The image has been processed by removal of detector artifacts and slight twilight glow. The duration of the exposure resulted in a 2.5-pixel smear from rotation of Mars.

A Martian dust storm to the west of Opportunity hampered visibility somewhat on Oct. 19, compared to the sky over Opportunity a week earlier.

For more information about comet Siding Spring, see http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/.
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Source http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA18592.jpg
Author NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./ASU/TAMU
This image or video was catalogued by Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: PIA18592.

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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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21 October 2014

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