Comet Siding Spring whizzes past Mars

WASHINGTON: A comet the size of a small mountain whizzed past Mars on Sunday, wowing space enthusiasts with the once-in-a-million-years encounter.

The comet, known as Siding Spring (C/2013 A1), made its closest encounter with Mars on Sunday at 2:27 pm (1827 GMT), racing past the Red Planet at a dazzling 126,000 miles (203,000 kilometers) per hour.

At its closet, Siding Spring was 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) from Mars -- less than half the distance between Earth and our moon.

"Signal confirming closest approach has just been received," the European Space Agency said on Twitter.

Before the comet passed, it could be seen in space racing toward the bright planet, trailed by a tail of debris.

The ball of ice, dust and rocks is believed to have originated billions of years ago in the Oort Cloud, a distant region of space at the outskirts of the solar system.

The comet is around a mile wide and is only about as solid as a pile of talcum powder.

NASA´s fleet of Mars-orbiting satellites and robots on the planet´s surface were primed for the flyby of the comet, hoping to photograph the rare event. (AFP)