Deep Impact Space Probe and Comet Temple 1
The Deep Impactor space probe was designed to study the interior of the Temple 1 (official designation 9P/Temple) comet, which orbits between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, by releasing an impactor into the comet nucleus. The space probe was launched from Cape Canaveral on January 12, 2005 and ended its almost six-month mission by successfully racing at a speed of 44,000 miles per hour into the comet’s orbital path, whereupon the probe released its impactor and transmitting back images of the resultant collision. At 11:52 p.m. Pacific time July 4, 2005 the impactor smashed into the 3-mile by 7-mile comet nucleus at a speed of 6.3 miles per second (23,000 mph) and excavated many thousands of tons of material. Pictures from the Deep Impact probe confirms that comets are not mostly ice, as was once thought. Rather, the amount of expelled dust seems to indicate that the comet is not held together very tightly. This might seem surprising, but it is not unreasonable for gravity to keep together a loose powder ball, scientists say.
This picture is a composite of 14 exposures that show the space probe smashing into the comet. Each exposure is 50 seconds, with 500 second intervals between exposures. The first six exposures are faint, then at 11:52 pm the comet brightens by 3X as shown by the succeeding eight exposures.
- Constellation Corvus
- Location: RA: 09h 32m 12.0s, Dec: +21d 30m 00s (Epoch 2000)
- Size:
- Magnitude:
- Type: Comet/Deep Impact encounter
- Exposure: 14x50 Sec at 500 Second intervals
- Date: July 3, 2005 at 11:52 PM
- Instrument: Meade 12” LX200 w/AO-& at f6.3 (1 pixel=0.97 arc sec)
- Processing: MaxIm DL