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, a refrigerator-sized probe from the
Deep Impact
mission struck
Comet Tempel 1 on July 4 at over 35,000 kilometers per hour.
The
unexpectedly bright explosion was not
nuclear
but rather originated from a large plume that reflected back sunlight.
Pictured above is how the event looked to the Earth-orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope.
A large cloud of bright material is seen emanating from the
comet's nucleus and then dispersing.
The area encompassing the
comet became over three times brighter in the hours after the impact.
Astronomers will continue to study the images and data returned by
Deep Impact
to better determine the nature of
Comet Tempel 1 and
discern clues about the formation dynamics of the
early Solar System.
Norwegian APOD mirror now available
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
