Mars Orbiter Spies Comet ISON 41
astroengine writes "Scientists managing the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have released their first observations of the incoming Comet ISON. The MRO was commanded to turn away its perpetual Mars-ward gaze and point into deep space to capture its own snapshot of the famous comet. ISON is currently making its closest approach to the red planet, passing just 7 million miles from its surface. The first raw images were snapped on Sept. 29 when the object was 8 million miles from the planet and more images (taken on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2) are currently being processed."
Re:Will it hit Mars? (Score:4, Informative)
That's comet Siding Spring [wikipedia.org] not ISON.
Also, they've collected more data that shows it'll miss Mars by at least 66,000 km.