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back to article COMET barrels towards Mars, machines of humanity race for cover

A cosmic rock that is older than mankind is expected to come within 87,000 miles (139,500 km) of Mars today. An artist's impression of comet Siding Spring's flyby oft Mars. Image credit: NASA NASA has been gearing up for the close encounter by hiding its satellites to protect the kit from being damaged by passing comet …

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  1. Will Godfrey Silver badge

    Close!

    And they want to put men on Mars - best make the space domes movable!

    0 0 Reply
    1. Trigonoceps occipitalis
      Reply Icon

      Re: Close!

      I thought the colonists were to be selected via Big Brother. Some subset (very much sub) of "men" then.

      1 0 Reply
    2. LaeMing
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      Best make the space domes movable!

      Yes! Just like our habitations here on Earth!

      4 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous John

    Whiz is the word.

    Instead of aseeing one millions of miles away that looks stationary, the Martian probes will really see it move.

    0 0 Reply
  3. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    On that picture, Mars looks like an angry Sunrise Haro? Not good.

    1 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Custard
      Reply Icon
      Alien

      That was similar to my initial thought - looks like Mars is about to open up a big gob along that fault-line running horizontally across it and swallow the thing...

      Cosmic Pac-Man anyone?

      0 0 Reply
  4. cortland

    Are there

    Any "cosmic rocks" in this neighborhood YOUNGER than mankind?

    0 0 Reply
    1. Alan Brown Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Are there

      I'd be surprised if there were any younger than the _earth_

      0 1 Reply
  5. Alan Brown Silver badge

    close shaves

    less than 1/10 the distance of any comet - that we know about.

    At least one researcher suspects that there was a very near miss (less than 500 miles) in 1883:

    https://craterhunter.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/did-the-earth-dodge-a-bullet-in-1883/

    And that a comet got rather too close for comfort about 12,000 years ago:

    https://craterhunter.wordpress.com/a-different-kind-of-climate-catastrophe/

    1 0 Reply

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