Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 November 1

                             The Day After Mars
       Image Credit & Copyright: Rolando Ligustri (CARA Project, CAST)

   Explanation: October 31, 1938 was the day after Martians encountered
   planet Earth, and everything was calm. Reports of the invasion were
   revealed to be part of a Halloween radio drama, the now famous
   broadcast based on H.G. Wells' scifi novel War of the Worlds. On Mars
   October 20, 2014 was calm too, the day after its close encounter with
   Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1). Not a hoax, this comet really did come
   within 86,700 miles or so of Mars, about 1/3 the Earth-Moon distance.
   Earth's spacecraft and rovers in Mars orbit and on the surface reported
   no ill effects though, and had a ringside seat as a visitor from the
   outer solar system passed by. Spanning over 2 degrees against stars of
   the constellation Ophiuchus, this colorful telescopic snapshot captures
   our view of Mars on the day after. Bluish star 51 Ophiuchi is at the
   upper right and the comet is just emerging from the Red Planet's bright
   glare.

                    Tomorrow's picture: inside the flame
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

--- hpt/lnx 1.9.0