Basically RUBBISH 'COMET of the Century' ISON snapped by HiR

[cronus]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/04 ... _actually/

Basically RUBBISH 'COMET of the Century' ISON snapped by HiRISE

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling high above the red planet has taken a break from its normal assignment of staring down at the ochre world beneath to get some snaps of Comet ISON as it passes by en route to the inner solar system.

Despite the fact that the orbiter used an instrument dubbed HiRISE - for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment - the actual comet itself failed to fill more than a measly pixel. Disappointed NASA boffins wrote:

HiRISE saw a small spot at the position of ISON that is relatively bright, like a star, but moving relative to actual stars. The comet's coma is apparently very faint ...

... the image isn't visually pleasing ...

ISON was discovered by Russian astronomers last year, while it was still out beyond the orbit of Jupiter. It's thought to be a new comet, on its first plunge into the solar system from the Oort Cloud. Its path will take it within three-quarters of a million miles of the Sun at the end of November, so that if it was a big 'un it would perhaps have developed a spectacular sky-dominating tail. However this now doesn't seem at all likely.

(continued)

[JimC]

Naturally it would not produce a big tail. It carries a load of microbial life that have developed a hive-mind style of sentience. Specialised units have produced a hard, scaly cover to protect the hive. Other specialised units form a compound eye style of telescope. It looks for places to colonise...

To feed...

[pErvinalia]

What a cunt. I was really looking forward to this one.

[That Alien Guy.]

Naturally it would not produce a big tail. It carries a load of microbial life that have developed a hive-mind style of sentience. Specialised units have produced a hard, scaly cover to protect the hive. Other specialised units form a compound eye style of telescope. It looks for places to colonise...

To feed...

This kind of emergent entity is not unknown and considering where you are located, sounds plausible, I will have my SAST upconnect and parse a whiff of the Insect Consensus' Historical Pheromone Archive and see if this is true, since you lot are technically in their domain.