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Space Eyes See Comet Tempel …
Title Space Eyes See Comet Tempel 1
Description These artist's concepts of Tempel 1 simulate an optical view of the comet (left), next to the simulated infrared view (right). The images illustrate the comet's shape, reflectivity, rotation rate and surface temperature, based on information from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. Measurements from the Great Observatories indicate that the comet is a matte black object roughly 14 by 4 kilometers (8.7 by 2.5 miles), or about one-half the size of Manhattan. Spitzer detects the comet's infrared energy or heat, depicted by the reddish glow. The sunlit side of the nucleus is glowing warmly, and the nightside is about the temperature of deep space.
Space Eyes See Comet Tempel …
Title Space Eyes See Comet Tempel 1
Description This artist's concept of Tempel 1 illustrates the comet's shape, reflectivity, rotation rate and surface temperature, based on information from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. Measurements from the Great Observatories indicate that the comet is a matte black object roughly 14 by 4 kilometers (8.7 by 2.5 miles), or about one-half the size of Manhattan. It rotates about once every 41 hours. The sunlit side of the nucleus is glowing warmly, and the nightside is about the temperature of deep space. At the time of these early observations, March 25-27, 2005,Tempel 1 was still far enough away from the Sun that it had not yet developed its characteristic halo of evaporating gas. Hubble and Spitzer observed the comet in visible and infrared light, respectively. The comet appeared only as an unresolved dot due to the great distance, but its general shape, size and color could be deduced from the way the visible and infrared brightness varied over time. The animation simulates an optical view of the comet, followed by its appearance in infrared. Spitzer detects the comet's infrared energy or heat, depicted by the reddish glow. The movement of the comet has been dramatically sped up to 13 seconds per rotation versus its normal rotation of about 40 hours. As the comet slowly rotates, the sunlit side heats up while the dark side cools down.
Ingredients of a Comet
Title Ingredients of a Comet
Description Astronomers using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Deep Impact mission are putting together a recipe for comet "soup" -- the primordial stuff of planets, comets, and other bodies in our solar system. The comet ingredients were excavated from comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when Deep Impact's probe plunged below its surface. While Deep Impact was busy collecting data up close, other telescopes around the world were also watching from the ground and space. Though the findings are still being analyzed, astronomers are already getting a good taste of our early solar system's history. Spitzer observed the dramatic event using its infrared spectrometer. This instrument breaks apart light like a prism, allowing astronomers to pick out chemical signatures that appear between the wavelengths of 5 and 38 microns. So far, Spitzer has detected clays, iron-containing compounds, carbonates, the minerals in seashells, crystallized silicates, such as the green olivine minerals found on beaches and in the gemstone peridot, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon-containing compounds found in car exhaust and on burnt toast. Hints of the mineral found in the reddish-brown gem spinel were also observed. Deep Impact's spectrometer has picked up the signatures of additional molecules within the wavelength range of 1 to 5 microns, including water vapor and carbon dioxide gas (the swirling vapor that comes off "dry ice"). These "comet soup" ingredients are pictured above: (on plates, from left to right) ice and dry ice, (in measuring cups, from left to right) olivine, smectite clay, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, spinel, metallic iron, (on table in the front, from left to right) the silicate enstatite, the carbonate dolomite, and the iron sulfide marcasite. Materials are courtesy of Dr. George Rossman of the California Institute of Technology's Geology and Planetary Sciences department.
How To Make Comet Soup
Title How To Make Comet Soup
Description Hungry for a comet? Perhaps not, but astronomers using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Deep Impact mission are putting together a recipe for comet "soup" -- the primordial stuff of planets, comets, and other bodies in our solar system. The comet ingredients were excavated from comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when Deep Impact's probe plunged below its surface. While Deep Impact was busy collecting data up close, other telescopes around the world were also watching from the ground and space. Though the findings are still being analyzed, astronomers are already getting a good taste of our early solar system's history. Spitzer observed the dramatic event using its infrared spectrometer. This instrument breaks apart light like a prism, allowing astronomers to pick out chemical signatures that appear between the wavelengths of 5 and 38 microns. So far, Spitzer has detected clays, iron-containing compounds, carbonates, the minerals in seashells, crystallized silicates, such as the green olivine minerals found on beaches and in the gemstone peridot, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon-containing compounds found in car exhaust and on burnt toast. Hints of the mineral found in the reddish-brown gem spinel were also observed. Deep Impact's spectrometer has picked up the signatures of additional molecules within the wavelength range of 1 to 5 microns, including water vapor and carbon dioxide gas (the swirling vapor that comes off "dry ice"). These "comet soup" ingredients are pictured above: (in the back from left to right) a cup of ice and a cup of dry ice, (in measuring cups in the middle row from left to right) olivine, smectite clay, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, spinel, metallic iron, (in the front row from left to right) the silicate enstatite, the carbonate dolomite, and the iron sulfide marcasite. Materials are courtesy of Dr. George Rossman of the California Institute of Technology's Geology and Planetary Sciences department.
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, F …
This Week At NASA...* HQ NAS …
02/26/2010
Description This Week At NASA...* HQ NASA is teaming with Univision Communications Inc, the Department of Education and other organizations to support Univision's initiative to improve Hispanic students high school graduation rates, prepare for college and encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. * READY, SET, GOES-P -- KSC The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P -- GOES-P is ready for launch. GOES-P is the last in the GOES N series of geostationary weather and environmental satellites, and like its companions will improve overall weather service quality. * VALENTINE'S DAY RENDEZVOUS -- JPL It'll be a match made in the heavens. A recent adjustment has put the Stardust spacecraft on a path through space that will result in an encounter with the comet Tempel 1 on February 14, 2011 -- Valentine's Day and allow Stardust to see areas of interest previously imaged by NASA's Deep Impact mission in 2005. * RIDE THE WIND -- ARC The National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex wind tunnel at Ames Research Center is normally used to test aircraft. But, in support of the Department of Energy's effort to reduce the nation's dependency on fossil fuels, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and truck manufacturer Navistar Inc. of Warrenville, Ill., brought this semi to Ames to test devices developed by the Livermore Lab to reduce aerodynamic drag on tractor-trailers. Tractor-trailers account for about 12 percent of the United States petroleum consumption. * NASA ANNIVERSARY: NACA'S 95th, March 3, 1915 – HQ Despite the Wright Brothers' pioneering powered flight of 1903, the United States lagged behind Europe in airplane technology when World War I broke out eleven years later. That's when Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the NACA, on March 3, 1915. Its mission: to coordinate aeronautics research already underway in the U.S.
Date 02/26/2010
Deep Impact Launch
title Deep Impact Launch
date 01.12.2005
description Erupting from the flames and smoke beneath it, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft lifts off at 1:47 p.m. EST today from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. A NASA Discovery mission, Deep Impact is heading for space and a rendezvous 83 million miles from Earth with Comet Tempel 1. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile (impactor) to crash onto the surface July 4, 2005, Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft will reveal the secrets of the comet's interior by collecting pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the crater's depth and diameter as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determining the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Space Network. *Image Credit*: NASA
Deep Impact
title Deep Impact
description This is an artist's rendition of the flyby spacecraft releasing the impactor, 24 hours before the impact event. Pictured from left to right are comet Tempel 1, the impactor, and the flyby spacecraft. The impactor is a 370-kilogram mass with an onboard guidance system. The flyby spacecraft includes a solar panel (right), a high-gain antenna (top), a debris shield (left, background), and science instruments for high and medium resolution imaging, infrared spectroscopy, and optical navigation (yellow box and cylinder, lower left). The fly spacecraft is about 3.2 meters long, 1.7 meters wide, and 2.3 meters high. The launch payload has a mass of 1020 kilograms. *Image Credit*: NASA
Bull's Eye!
title Bull's Eye!
date 07.04.2005
description This image shows the initial ejecta that resulted when NASA's Deep Impact probe collided with comet Tempel 1 at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time, July 3 (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4) . It was taken by the spacecraft's medium-resolution camera 16 seconds after impact. *Image credit:* NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD
Preparing Deep Impact
title Preparing Deep Impact
date 10.18.2004
description A worker prepares NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft for launch in the clean room at Astrotech Space Operations near Kennedy Space Center. Deep Impact is designed to probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 and reveal the secrets of its interior. *Image Credit*: NASA
Comet Tempel 1 Animations
Name Comet Tempel 1 Animations
Deep Impact: Chandra Monitor …
Name Deep Impact: Chandra Monitors X-rays from Comet Tempel 1
Category Solar System
Release Date July 06, 2005
Mars and Syrtis Major
Title Mars and Syrtis Major
Full Description Taking advantage of Mars's closest approach to Earth in eight years, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have taken the space- based observatory's sharpest views yet of the Red Planet. The telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 snapped these images between April 27 and May 6, when Mars was 54 million miles (87 million kilometers) from Earth. From this distance the telescope could see Martian features as small as 12 miles (19 kilometers) wide. The telescope obtained four images, which, together, show the entire planet. Each view depicts the planet as it completes one quarter of its daily rotation. In these views the north polar cap is tilted toward the Earth and is visible prominently at the top of each picture. The images were taken in the middle of the Martian northern summer, when the polar cap had shrunk to its smallest size. During this season the Sun shines continuously on the polar cap. Previous telescopic and spacecraft observations have shown that this summertime "residual" polar cap is composed of water ice, just like Earth's polar caps. These Hubble telescope snapshots reveal that substantial changes in the bright and dark markings on Mars have occurred in the 20 years since the NASA Viking spacecraft missions first mapped the planet. The Martian surface is dynamic and ever changing. Some regions that were dark 20 years ago are now bright red, some areas that were bright red are now dark. Winds move sand and dust from region to region, often in spectacular dust storms. Over long timescales many of the larger bright and dark markings remain stable, but smaller details come and go as they are covered and then uncovered by sand and dust. The dark feature known as Syrtis Major was first seen telescopically by the astronomer Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century. Many small, dark, circular impact craters can be seen in this region, attesting to the Hubble telescope's ability to reveal fine detail on the planet's surface. To the south of Syrtis is a large circular feature called Hellas. Viking and more recently Mars Global Surveyor have revealed that Hellas is a large and deep impact crater. These Hubble telescope pictures show it to be filled with surface frost and water ice clouds. Along the right limb, late afternoon clouds have formed around the volcano Elysium.
Date 06/30/1999
NASA Center Hubble Space Telescope Center
A Closer Encounter with Mars
Title A Closer Encounter with Mars
A Closer Encounter with Mars
Title A Closer Encounter with Mars
Hubble Captures Outburst fro …
Title Hubble Captures Outburst from Comet Targeted By Deep Impact
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Outburst fro …
Title Hubble Captures Outburst from Comet Targeted By Deep Impact
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Outburst fro …
Title Hubble Captures Outburst from Comet Targeted By Deep Impact
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
NASA's Space Eyes Focus on D …
Title NASA's Space Eyes Focus on Deep Impact Target
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Hubble Captures Deep Impact' …
Title Hubble Captures Deep Impact's Collision with Comet
Deep Impact Spacecraft Colli …
Name of Image Deep Impact Spacecraft Collides With Comet Tempel 1 (Video)
Date of Image 2005-07-04
Full Description After 172 days and 268 million miles of deep space travel, the NASA Deep Impact spacecraft successfully reached out and touched comet Tempel 1. The collision between the coffee table-sized space probe and city-sized comet occurred July 4, 2005 at 12:52 a.m. CDT. Comprised of images taken by the targeting sensor aboard the impactor probe, this movie shows the spacecraft approaching the comet up to just seconds before impact. Mission scientists expect Deep Impact to provide answers to basic questions about the formation of the solar system. Principal investigator for Deep Impact, Dr. Michael A?Hearn of the University of Maryland in College Park, is responsible for the mission, and project management is handled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The program office at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama assisted the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington with program management, technology planning, systems assessment, flight assurance and public outreach. The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colorado. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD)
Deep Impact Spacecraft Colli …
Name of Image Deep Impact Spacecraft Collides With Comet Tempel 1-Video
Date of Image 2005-07-04
Full Description After 172 days and 268 million miles of deep space travel, the NASA Deep Impact spacecraft successfully reached out and touched comet Tempel 1. The collision between the coffee table-sized space probe and city-sized comet occurred July 4, 2005 at 12:52 a.m. CDT. The objects met at 23,000 miles per hour. The heat produced by the impact was at least several thousand degrees Kelvin and at that extreme temperature, just about any material begins to glow. This movie, made up of images taken by the medium resolution camera aboard the spacecraft, from May 1 to July 2, shows the Deep Impact approach to comet Tempel 1. The spacecraft detected 3 outbursts during this time period, on June 14th, June 22nd, and July 2nd. The movie ends during the final outburst. Mission scientists expect Deep Impact to provide answers to basic questions about the formation of the solar system. Principal investigator, Dr. Michael A?Hearn of the University of Maryland in College Park, is responsible for the mission, and project management is handled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The program office at Marshall Space Flight Center MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, assisted the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington with program management, technology planning, systems assessment, flight assurance and public outreach. The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colorado. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD)
Stars, Galaxies, and Comet T …
Title Stars, Galaxies, and Comet Tempel 1
Explanation Faint comet Tempel 1 [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/tempel1.html ] sports a fuzzy blue-tinted tail, just right of center in this lovely field of stars [ http://panther-observatory.com/gallery/comets/doc/ Tempel_02052005.htm ]. Recorded on May 3rd slowly sweeping through the constellation Virgo, periodic comet [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ cometfact.html ] Tempel 1 orbits the Sun once every 5.5 years. Also caught in the skyview are two galaxies at the upper left - NGC 4762 and [ http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/apr/ NGC_4762.html ] NGC 4754 - both members of the large Virgo Cluster [ http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/galgrps/vir.html ] of galaxies. Classified as a lenticular galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/lenticul.html ], NGC 4762 presents an edge-on disk as a narrow gash of light while NGC 4754 is a football-shaped elliptical [ http://www.seds.org/messier/elli.html ] galaxy. Similar in apparent [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030516.html ] size, the galaxies and comet make for an intriguing visual comparison [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040131.html ], but Tempel 1 is only about 3 light-minutes from planet Earth. The two Virgo cluster galaxies are 50 million light-years away. NASA's Deep Impact [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] spacecraft is scheduled to encounter Tempel 1 on July 4th, launching a probe to impact the comet's nucleus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040319.html ].
Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtl …
Title Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet
Explanation What happens when you crash into a comet? That was a question considered by astronomers [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/bios.html ] when they designed the Deep Impact mission [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html ], launched in January. This coming July 4, the Deep Impact spaceship will reach its target - Comet Tempel 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050512.html ] -- and release an impactor over five times the mass of a person toward its surface. The mothership will photograph the result. The remaining crater [ http://www.planetary.org/deepimpact/di_crater.html ] may tell how Tempel 1 is constructed. If, for example, Comet Tempel 1 [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/tempel1.html ] is an extremely loose pile of debris, the impactor may leave little or no discernable crater. On the other hand, if the comet's surface is relatively firm, the impactor's ripple may leave quite a large crater. A contest is even being held [ http://www.planetary.org/deepimpact/contest_enter.html ] to predict the size of the resulting crater. Pictured above [ http://www.planetary.org/deepimpact/di.html ] is an artist's impression of the initial encounter between the spacecraft and the comet.
Thirteen Million Kilometers …
Title Thirteen Million Kilometers from Comet Tempel 1
Explanation The Deep Impact spacecraft continues to close on Comet Tempel 1, a comet roughly the size of Manhattan. Early on July 3 (EDT), the Deep Impact [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] spacecraft will separate [ http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/050615_deepimpact_tech.html ] in to two individual robotic spaceships, one called Flyby and the other called Impactor. During the next 24 hours, both Flyby and Impactor will fire rockets and undergo complex maneuvers in preparation for Impactor's planned collision [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050516.html ] with Comet Tempel 1 [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/tempel1.html ]. On July 4 (1:52 am EDT) if everything goes as scheduled, the 370-kilogram Impactor will strike Tempel 1 [ http://cometography.com/pcomets/009p.html ]'s surface at over 14,000 kilometers per hour. Impactor will attempt to photograph the oncoming comet right up to the time of collision, while Flyby photographs the result from nearby. The above image [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/DI_T1_doy171.html ] was taken on 19 June from about 13 million kilometers out and used to help identify the central nucleus [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/press/050621umd.html ] of the comet inside the diffuse coma [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/coma.html ]. Telescopes around the Earth, including the Hubble Space Telescope, will also be closely watching [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/ archive/releases/2005/16/ ] the distant silent space ballet [ http://www.ebertfest.com/three/32001.htm ]. The result may give crucial information about the structure of comets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040319.html ] and the early history of our Solar System [ http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/origins/building/index.shtml ].
The Landscape on Comet Tempe …
Title The Landscape on Comet Tempel 1
Explanation This diverse landscape is the surface of comet Temple 1's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050512.html ] nucleus as seen by the Deep Impact probe's Impactor Targeting Sensor [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html ]. Within minutes of recording the rugged view [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02135 ], the landscape had changed dramatically though, as the impactor smashed into the surface near the two large, half kilometer-sized craters at picture center. Indications [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/ PIA02131 ] are that the probe penetrated well below the surface before vaporizing, sending a relatively narrow plume of debris blasting back into space. Researchers are still speculating on the final size of the crater [ http://www.deepimpact.umd.edu/science/ cratering.html ] produced by the July 4th comet crash [ http://www.deepimpact.umd.edu/press/ 050704a-jpl.html ], but material continues to spew from the impact site and has caused the faint comet [ http://deepimpact.umd.edu/collab_pub/imagep.shtml ] to brighten significantly. Determining the crater dimensions and analyzing the debris ejected from the comet's interior will provide premier insights into the formation of comet Tempel 1 [ http://www.deepimpact.umd.edu/science/tempel1.html ], a primordial chunk of our own solar system.
A Swift Look at Tempel 1
Title A Swift Look at Tempel 1
Explanation Comet Tempel 1 is targeted for a collision [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050516.html ] with the impactor probe from NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft at about 1:52am EDT on July 4th (other time zones [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/faq5.html#q1 ]). Cameras on the impactor probe and the flyby spacecraft will capture close-up images of the event - expected to produce [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/wwws.html ] a crater on the surface of the comet's nucleus. Of course, Earth-orbiting [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/ releases/2005/16/ ] and ground-based telescopes will be watching too, including instruments on the Swift satellite normally used to spot gamma-ray bursts [ http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/swift/swiftsc.html ] in the distant universe. Swift's ultraviolet telescope recorded this picture of Tempel 1 [ http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/swift/results/releases/ images/9P_Tempel1/ ] on June 29th. Because the image is registered on the comet, the background stars appear as short trails. Want to follow the encounter? Media coverage chronicling the event, and the possibilities for viewing the comet [ http://deepimpact.umd.edu/amateur/ ] with small telescopes can be found through the Deep Impact website [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html ]. Updated images will also be available from the Kitt Peak National Observatory [ http://www.noao.edu/news/deep-impact/ ].
Deep Impact on Comet Tempel …
Title Deep Impact on Comet Tempel 1 from Hubble
Explanation It was a human-made event visible across the Solar System. At the direction of terrestrial scientists [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/team.html ], a refrigerator-sized probe from the Deep Impact [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] mission struck Comet Tempel 1 [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/tempel1.html ] on July 4 at over 35,000 kilometers per hour. The unexpectedly bright explosion [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/press/050704a-jpl.html ] was not nuclear [ http://zvis.com/cpg14/index.php?cat=23 ] but rather originated from a large plume that reflected back sunlight. Pictured above [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/17/ ] is how the event looked to the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021124.html ]. A large cloud of bright material is seen emanating from the comet's nucleus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040103.html ] and then dispersing. The area encompassing the comet became over two times brighter in the hours after the impact. Astronomers will continue to study the images and data returned by Deep Impact [ http://www.planetary.org/deepimpact/ ] to better determine the nature of Comet Tempel 1 [ http://www.planetary.org/deepimpact/tempel1.html ] and discern clues about the formation dynamics of the early Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/origin.html ]. Norwegian APOD mirror now available [ http://www.vitnytt.no/apod/ ]
The Nucleus of Comet Tempel …
Title The Nucleus of Comet Tempel 1
Explanation Approaching the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050512.html ] at ten kilometers per "second", the Deep Impact [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] probe's targeting camera recorded a truly dramatic series of images. Successive pictures improve in resolution and have been composited here [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02142 ] at a scale of 5 meters per pixel -- including images taken within a few meters of the surface moments before the July 4th impact. Analyzing the resulting [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050705.html ] cloud of debris, researchers are directly exploring [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/press/050906nasa.html ] the makeup of a comet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/comets.html ], a primordial chunk of solar system material. Described as a recipe [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-18/ release.shtml ] for primordial soup, the list of Tempel 1's ingredients - tiny grains of silicates, iron compounds, complex hydrocarbons, and clay and carbonates thought to require liquid water to form - might be more appropriate for a cosmic souffle, as the nucleus is [ http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1589_1.asp ] apparently porous and fluffy. Seen here, Tempel 1's nucleus is about five kilometers long, with the impact site between the two large craters near the bottom [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050706.html ].
Fueled for Flight
title Fueled for Flight
Description Looking like something out of a science fiction movie, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team loaded 1,196 kilograms (2,637 pounds) of fuel onto the vehicle in one of the final steps before launch. Engineers and technicians in SCAPE suits (Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble) loaded 1,196 kilograms (2,637 pounds) of high-purity hydrazine, bringing the spacecraft up to its flight mass of 2,180 kilograms (4,806 pounds). For safety reasons, photographers were not allowed in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center during fueling. The pictured technicians, in similar fueling gear, were suiting up to fuel the Deep Impact spacecraft in December 2004. The orbiter is currently undergoing two final days of electrical testing. On Thursday, July 21, the final inspection will take place and the spacecraft will be mated to the launch vehicle adapter on Friday. Credit: NASA
Spacecraft Images Comet Targ …
jplhdvideocollection, nasa
The Deep Impact spacecraft's …
hartley20101101-1280-i
mediatype VIDEO
mediatype movies
date 2010-11-01
creator NASA
identifier hartley20101101-1280-i
Tempel 1 and Hartley 2
epoxiimagegallery, nasa
This image shows the nuclei …
500786main_pia13629
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2010-11-18
creator NASA
identifier 500786main_pia13629
The Road to Tempel (Artist's …
PIA02106
Sol (our sun)
Title The Road to Tempel (Artist's Concept)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Quick Time Movie for PIA02106 The Road to Tempel This animation chronicles the travels of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, from its launch in January of 2005 to its dramatic impact 172 days later with comet Tempel 1. The times listed below were updated on July 2, 2005, and differ from those referred to in the animation. The final phase of the mission, called the encounter phase, includes two targeting maneuvers, the last of which occurs at 5:07 p.m. Pacific time (8:07 p.m. Eastern time), July 2. Six hours later, the spacecraft releases an impactor into the path of the charging comet. Twelve minutes later, the remaining craft, called the flyby, steers itself away from the comet's path. The free impactor then autonomously fine-tunes its trajectory, with the goal of hitting the sunlit side of Tempel 1. Impact is scheduled to occur at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time, July 3 (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4). The flyby spacecraft will watch the collision from the sidelines, snapping pictures up to 13 minutes after impact. At that point, the craft stops taking images and enters a protective mode, in which its shields block dust from the comet's inner coma. Fifty-nine minutes after impact, the flyby turns around for one last photo opportunity.
The Making of Deep Impact
PIA02109
Impactor, S-band Antenna
Title The Making of Deep Impact
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft being built at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo. On July 2, at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 3), the spacecraft's impactor will be released from Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft. One day later, it will collide with Tempel 1. The impactor cannot directly talk to Earth, so it will communicate via the flyby spacecraft during its final day. The two spacecraft communicate at "S-band" frequency. The flyby's S-band antenna is the gold, rectangle-shaped object seen on the spacecraft, in the middle of this picture.
A Game of Space Telephone
PIA02110
Impactor, S-band Antenna
Title A Game of Space Telephone
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows NASA's Deep Impact impactor spacecraft while it was being built at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo. On July 2, at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 3), the impactor will be released from Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft. One day later, it will collide with Tempel 1. The impactor cannot directly talk to Earth, so it will communicate via the flyby spacecraft during its final day. The two spacecraft communicate at "S-band" frequency. The impactor's S-band antenna is the rectangle-shaped object seen on the top of the impactor in this image.
It Happens in a Flash
PIA02108
Title It Happens in a Flash
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows a flash produced in a laboratory by a high-velocity bead slamming into dust. Though the flash itself can't be resolved, its brilliant effects can be seen in this three-second time exposure. Scientists say that the collision between Deep Impact's impactor and comet Tempel 1 may produce a similar flash. This flash occurred when a quarter-inch sphere smashed into powdered dust at a speed of 6.4 kilometers per second (4 miles per second). Even though the actual flash lasted less than 50 millionths of a second, the camera recorded the hot debris in the impact crater (center) and the streaking ejecta. This experiment was performed at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
A Closer Hubble Encounter Wi …
PIA01592
Sol (our sun)
Wide Field Planetary Camera …
Title A Closer Hubble Encounter With Mars - Syrtis Major
Original Caption Released with Image Taking advantage of Mars's closest approach to Earth in eight years, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have taken the space-based observatory's sharpest views yet of the Red Planet. NASA is releasing these images to commemorate the second anniversary of the Mars Pathfinder landing. The lander and its rover, Sojourner, touched down on the Red Planet's rolling hills on July 4, 1997, embarking on an historic three-month mission to gather information on the planet's atmosphere, climate, and geology. The telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 snapped images between April 27 and May 6, when Mars was 54 million miles (87 million kilometers) from Earth. From this distance the telescope could see Martian features as small as 12 miles (19 kilometers) wide. The telescope obtained four images (see PIA01587 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01587 ]), which, together, show the entire planet. This image is centered on the dark feature known as Syrtis Major, first seen telescopically by the astronomer Christian Huygens in the 17th century. Many small, dark, circular impact craters can be seen in this region, attesting to the Hubble telescope's ability to reveal fine detail on the planet's surface. To the south of Syrtis a large circular feature called Hellas. Viking and more recently Mars Global Surveyor have revealed that Hellas is a large and deep impact crater. These Hubble telescope pictures show it to be filled with surface frost and water ice clouds. Along the right limb, late afternoon clouds have formed around the volcano Elysium. This color composite is generated from data using three filters: blue (410 nanometers), green (502 nanometers), and red (673 nanometers).
A Closer Hubble Encounter Wi …
PIA01587
Sol (our sun)
Wide Field Planetary Camera …
Title A Closer Hubble Encounter With Mars - 4 Views
Original Caption Released with Image . The upper-right image is centered on the region of the planet known as Tharsis, home of the largest volcanoes in the solar system. The bright, ring-like feature just to the left of center is the volcano Olympus Mons, which is more than 340 miles (550 kilometers) across and 17 miles(27 kilometers) high. Thick deposits of fine-grained, windblown dust cover most of this hemisphere. The colors indicate that the dust is heavily oxidized ("rusted"), and millions (or perhaps billions) of years of dust storms have homogenized its composition. Prominent late afternoon clouds along the right limb of the planet can be seen. See also PIA01590 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01590 ]. The lower-left image is centered near another volcanic region known as Elysium. This area shows many small, dark markings that have been observed by the Hubble telescope and other spacecraft to change as a result of the movement of sand and dust across the Martian surface. In the upper left of this image, at high northern latitudes, a large chevron-shaped area of water ice clouds mark a storm front. Along the right limb, a large cloud system has formed around the Olympus Mons volcano. See also PIA01591 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01591 ]. The lower-right image is centered on the dark feature known as Syrtis Major, first seen telescopically by the astronomer Christian Huygens in the 17th century. Many small, dark, circular impact craters can be seen in this region, attesting to the Hubble telescope's ability to reveal fine detail on the planet's surface. To the south of Syrtis a large circular feature called Hellas. Viking and more recently Mars Global Surveyor have revealed that Hellas is a large and deep impact crater. These Hubble telescope pictures show it to be filled with surface frost and water ice clouds. Along the right limb, late afternoon clouds have formed around the volcano Elysium. See also PIA01592 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01592 ]. Shown here are color composites generated from data using three filters: blue (410 nanometers), green (502 nanometers), and red (673 nanometers). A total of 12 color filters, spanning ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, were used in the observation., Taking advantage of Mars's closest approach to Earth in eight years, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have taken the space-based observatory's sharpest views yet of the Red Planet. NASA is releasing these images to commemorate the second anniversary of the Mars Pathfinder landing. The lander and its rover, Sojourner, touched down on the Red Planet's rolling hills on July 4, 1997, embarking on an historic three-month mission to gather information on the planet's atmosphere, climate, and geology. The telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 snapped these images between April 27 and May 6, when Mars was 54 million miles (87 million kilometers) from Earth. From this distance the telescope could see Martian features as small as 12 miles (19 kilometers) wide. The telescope obtained four images, which, together, show the entire planet. Each view depicts the planet as it completes one quarter of its daily rotation. In these views the north polar cap is tilted toward the Earth and is visible prominently at the top of each picture. The images were taken in the middle of the Martian northern summer, when the polar cap had shrunk to its smallest size. During this season the Sun shines continuously on the polar cap. Previous telescopic and spacecraft observations have shown that this summertime "residual" polar cap is composed of water ice, just like Earth's polar caps. These Hubble telescope snapshots reveal that substantial changes in the bright and dark markings on Mars have occurred in the 20 years since the NASA Viking spacecraft missions first mapped the planet. The Martian surface is dynamic and ever changing. Some regions that were dark 20years ago are now bright red, some areas that were bright red are now dark. Winds move sand and dust from region to region, often in spectacular dust storms. Over long time scales many of the larger bright and dark markings remain stable, but smaller details come and go as they are covered and then uncovered by sand and dust. The upper-left image is centered near the location of the Pathfinder landing site. Dark sand dunes that surround the polar cap merge into a large, dark region called Acidalia. This area, as shown by images from the Hubble telescope and other spacecraft, is composed of dark, sand-sized grains of pulverized volcanic rock. Below and to the left of Acidalia are the massive Martian canyon systems of Valles Marineris, some of which form long linear markings that were once thought by some to be canals. Early morning clouds can be seen along the left limb of the planet, and a large cyclonic storm composed of water ice is churning near the polar cap. See also PIA01589 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01589 ]
Artist's Concept of Deep Imp …
PIA07923
Title Artist's Concept of Deep Impact's Encounter with Comet Tempel 1
Original Caption Released with Image This artist's concept gives us a look at the moment of impact and the forming of the crater.
Space Eyes See Comet Tempel …
PIA03516
Sol (our sun)
Title Space Eyes See Comet Tempel 1 (Artist's Concept)
Original Caption Released with Image These artist's concepts of Tempel 1 simulate an optical view of the comet (left), next to the simulated infrared view (right). The images illustrate the comet's shape, reflectivity, rotation rate and surface temperature, based on information from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. Measurements from the Great Observatories indicate that the comet is a matte black object roughly 14 by 4 kilometers (8.7 by 2.5 miles), or about one-half the size of Manhattan. At the time of these early observations, March 25-27, 2005,Tempel 1 was still far enough away from the Sun that it had not yet developed its characteristic halo of evaporating gas. Hubble and Spitzer observed the comet in visible and infrared light, respectively. The comet appeared only as an unresolved dot due to the great distance, but its general shape, size and color could be deduced from the way the visible and infrared brightness varied over time. The animation simulates an optical view of the comet, followed by its appearance in infrared. Spitzer detects the comet's infrared energy or heat, depicted by the reddish glow. The movement of the comet has been dramatically sped up to 13 seconds per rotation versus its normal rotation of about 40 hours. As the comet slowly rotates, the sunlit side heats up while the dark side cools down.
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