Close Comet Flyby threw Mars' Magnetic Field into Chaos (image)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Caption

The close encounter between comet Siding Spring and Mars flooded the planet with an invisible tide of charged particles from the comet's coma. The dense inner coma reached the surface of the planet, or nearly so. The comet's powerful magnetic field temporarily merged with, and overwhelmed, the planet's weak field, as shown in this artist's depiction.

Credit

Credits: NASA/Goddard

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