These images are the first ever taken of a comet from a stratospheric scientific balloon mission and show that Comet Siding Spring was undergoing an outburst event.
These three images of C/2013 (Comet Siding Spring) were taken by the Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) on September 26, 2014. The comet was 114 million miles from Mars when these images were taken, approximately three weeks before its close encounter with that planet. BOPPS was approximately 127,000 feet above Earth, observing comets, asteroids and stars during its 17-hour flight.
The images are the first ever taken of a comet from a stratospheric scientific balloon mission, and show that Siding Spring was undergoing an outburst event, during which it rapidly decreased in brightness over the course of just 30 minutes. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL