A couple of questions come to mind about a possible comet photo opportunity for Curiosity (and I welcome anyone's input regarding these questions):
1. How large would the tail be and how bright could it be when the comet is near Mars, considering the tail lengthens, and the comet brightens, as it gets closer to the Sun?
2. What is the light-capturing capability of the cameras on Curiosity? Does NASA have a way of controlling the shutter speed, to keep it open longer to be able to get a good image of the comet?
I know that if I used a camera shutter speed set for daylight, I would not be able to capture enough light to see stars. Even if the comet does become visible from Curiosity's vantage point on Mars, would NASA be able to capture a picture of the comet with the shutter speeds available to them?
edit on 10/3/2012 by Soylent Green Is People because: (no reason given)


