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Credit & Copyright: Stardust Team,
NASA
Explanation:
A flying saucer from outer space crash-landed in the Utah desert yesterday after
being tracked by radar and chased by helicopters and airplanes.
Like last time, no space aliens were involved.
The saucer, the Stardust
return capsule, is carrying bits of
Comet Wild 2
captured two years ago during a rendezvous between
Stardust
and the ancient comet.
The capsule is
pictured above entering a temporary clean room in
Utah
before part of it is shipped to NASA's
Johnson Space Center
in Houston,
Texas,
USA.
In the inset on the lower
right,
an artist depicts the capsule as it likely looked after it parachuted to a landing
in the Utah desert.
The upper right insert shows an image of the
streaking capsule taken yesterday by a
DC-8 chase plane.
The bits of
Comet Wild 2 stored in the Stardust return capsule are likely older than the
Sun and will be inspected over the next few years for
clues about the early years of our
Solar System.
You, too,
can help look for dust grains in the Stardust aerogel!
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Stardust project - comet - Earth
Publications with words: Stardust project - comet - Earth
See also:
- APOD: 2025 February 5 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Setting over a Chilean Hill
- APOD: 2025 February 2 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Disintegrates
- APOD: 2025 January 28 Á Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay
- APOD: 2025 January 26 Á The Many Tails of Comet G3 ATLAS
- Comet G3 ATLAS: a Tail and a Telescope
- APOD: 2025 January 21 Á Comet ATLAS over Brasilia
- APOD: 2025 January 20 Á Comet ATLAS Rounds the Sun