Several other nasa instruments on mars and in space also imaged comet siding spring s mars flyby.
Comet siding spring view from mars.
Comet siding spring seen next to mars.
In the still image comet siding spring is visible as a faint smear just above and to the right of the brightest streak.
19 comet c 2013 a1 also known as comet siding spring will pass within about 87 000 miles 139 500 kilometers of the red planet less than half the distance between earth and our moon and less than one tenth the distance of any known comet flyby of earth.
In the animation the comet moves across the image from right to left above the brightest streak.
Siding spring s nucleus will come closest to mars around 11 27 a m.
On that date the comet passed by mars at approximately 87 000 miles about one third the distance between earth and the moon.
Edt october 19 2014.
Several spacecraft from nasa europe and india were expected to track the comet s approach from their positions in orbit.
Edt hurtling at about 126 000 mph 56 kilometers per second.