Comet ISON may pay a visit to the Red Planet

Around the world, astronomers are anticipating the approach of Comet ISON.A new ScienceCast video anticipates its close flyby of Mars on Oct. 1, 2013. On Thanksgiving Day 2013, the icy visitor from the outer solar system will skim the sun's outer atmosphere and, if it survives, could emerge as one of the brightest comets in years. First, though, it has to fly by Mars.

Astronomer Carey Lisse of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab said,"Comet ISON is paying a visit to the Red Planet. On Oct 1st, the comet will pass within 0.07 AU from Mars, about six times closer than it will ever come to Earth."

Mars rovers and satellites will get a close-up view. It's too early to say whether Curiosity will be able to see the comet from the surface of Mars - that depends on how much ISON brightens between now and then. Lisse says the best bet is NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The MRO satellite is equipped with a powerful half-meter telescope named HiRISE that is more than capable of detecting the comet's atmosphere and tail. Observations are planned on four dates: August 20th, Sept 29th, and Oct 1st and 2nd.

The Mars flyby comes at a key time in Comet ISON's journey. It will have just crossed the "frost line," a place just outside the orbit of Mars where solar heating is enough to start vaporizing frozen water. But when ISON crosses the frost line, "the whole comet could erupt in geysers of gas," says Lisse. "Mars orbiters will have a ringside seat."

The amount of outgassing at Mars will give researchers clues to the size of ISON's nucleus, which is hidden from view deep within the comet's dusty atmosphere. McEwen sees this as a tune-up for another comet encounter next year. "The science value of observing Comet ISON is hard to predict. We've never tried such a thing before. However, this is good practice for Comet Siding Spring, which will pass much closer to Mars in 2014."

For now all eyes are on Comet ISON. An unprecedented number of NASA spacecraft - 16 - will be observing the comet. Astronauts on board the International Space Station will be watching, too.

To read more about the comet, click here.