A fuzzy image of comet Tempel 1 can be seen here. According to the accompanying article, "What is now little more than a few pixels across will evolve by July 4 into the best, most detailed images of a comet ever taken...Scientists are especially interested in comets because they are believed to be leftovers from the formation of the solar system. Understanding comets' ingredients could help prove -- or disprove -- theories about how the planets formed."
On July 4th the comet will collide with a nearly half-ton chunk of copper, outfitted with a camera, at 23,000 mph. Additional cameras aboard the nearby spacecraft -- as well as Hubble and other telescopes -- will capture the whole show. Should be interesting.
Posts: 1970 | Location: U.S. | Registered: 06-03-02
Thanks for the heads-up, the 4th should be an interesting day. I suspect the 22000 mph collision of the 1/2 ton object into the far more massive comet, even head on, would sort of be like a fly running into a moving auto?
Posts: 625 | Location: Boston | Registered: 06-13-02
I don't think they expect the comet's trajectory to change measurably. They want to "kick up some dust" and see what emerges from the impact. They chose copper because it's unlikely to be found in the comet itself.
Posts: 1970 | Location: U.S. | Registered: 06-03-02
I am wondering which is worth more: kicking up the dust on the comet or a half ton of pennies (for which the copper could have been used). . . . Let's see on July 4 if the project favors the first choice: kicking up the dust on the comet.
Haven't heard much about this at all. What time is the impact? Web site available for results/pics? Looks like for most,this has less interest than a half ton of pennies.
Posts: 625 | Location: Boston | Registered: 06-13-02
According to msn.com the impact is expected to take place at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT) on July 4. The original link I posted at the top doesn't actually seem to be updating with new pics.
Good info on Deep Impact can also be found at HowStuffWorks.
Posts: 1970 | Location: U.S. | Registered: 06-03-02
It sounds like it will take them a week or so before they really have a handle on the data, but the NASA scientists seem to think it worked even better than they were hoping. Even the high resolution images taken before the collision showed structures that had never before been observed.
