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Deep Impact Catches First Glimpse of Target Comet
smooth wombat writes "The BBC has a story, with pics and diagrams, showing the first image of comet Temple Tuttle 1 taken by the Deep Impact spacecraft. (Secondary link from Wired News) The Deep Impact spacecraft is to rendezvous with the comet on July 4th and impact the comet in an attempt to learn more about how comets are formed and possibly more insight into how the solar system was formed. A camera on the impactor will allow scientists to examine the surface of Tempel 1 in greater detail than ever before. Depending on how much dust hits the camera's lens, scientists should be able to see photos up until a second before impact. If that's the case, the photos will reveal objects as small as 8 inches in width. The photos will immediately be relayed to the main Deep Impact spacecraft and then down to Earth."
I imagine if there is, they will have a similar look on their faces as a soccer player right before he takes a ball to the face. But I digress... fifty bucks says now that NASA wants to crash, they wont.
*ducks*
I couldn't find anything in either article about the instrementation other than that they have cameras. Is that the only thing they've got? If so, then an image won't be able to do anything than generate more questions and add little insight. Besides, at these speeds they will be something like 1/2 mile out when the last picture is taken.
Because there's inevitably comments about the mission's name (which is the same as that of a Hollywood movie) whenever this is on slashdot, I figured I'd try to nip it in the bud. From this article:
"The scientists came up with the Deep Impact name independently of the movie studio, around the same time, neither knowing the other was choosing it, even though some members of NASA's Deep Impact team were consultants on the picture."
For those seeking more info, here's the Wikipedia article (on the mission, not the movie).
from the now-put-ben-affleck-into-the-torpedo-tube dept.
Well I guess that's better than the:
from the now-put-the-torpedo-tube-into-ben-affleck dept.
This probe is going to do a far better job than the "Armageddon" probe they're sending up next year.
Any impact yet on this pending legal case: the story I find myself wondering who the "In fact, he says, there are a number of scientists there [in the US] who would be glad to sue NASA.
"measly 8-inch resolution?"
You've only seen the rhinocerous from 5 miles away through your most powerful binoculars. You've figured out how to put a camera on a bullet and now you're gonna get a tickbirds view.
You'd probably open your eyes, see Racquel W. and complain that you thought you were with Gina L. (showing my age here)
Kid: "Hmmm, that slug looks interesting. I think I'll poke it with this stick."
Scientist: "Hmmm, that comet looks interesting. I think I'll run into it with this camera."
I guess scientists are big kids with better sticks.
Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the earth.
- Archimedes
Impact scheduled for July 4, no less; who says American science cum colonialism is dead?
You mispelled Bruce Willis btw.
Jonathanjk.com
Last new moon, I made this visual visual drawing of the comet using this telescope.
From the summary, "The Deep Impact spacecraft is to rendezvous with the comet..."
By 'rendezvous', do they mean 'smash into it really hard and fast' ?
" The last photo will show an alien looking upwards with its life flashing before its eyes" ...wondering if the probe will be friends with it.
We should be spending this cash on another moon rocket.
Closer examination the surface revealed what looks to be a 1950s British police box, a pompous man wearing a flamboyant scarf and a dimwitted sidekick getting vaporized.
This will make the world's most AWESOME fireworks display on July 4th.
Derive Politics
First Glimpse of Target Comet.
This is a politically correct term for victim
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. - Yogi Berra
I hope they don't make a mistake in their calculations and end up with the impactor orbiting the comet.
Does anyone else think this mission will be the opening shot of an interplanetary war?
As was suggested by Pad-Lok (and confirmed by me) there'll be plenty of things watching with a bit more resolution... just from further away. Maybe not all of the instrumentation will be imaging-related - I wouldn't be surprised to see some spectrography done too - but I know there'll be some imaging involved.
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
Does this involves the use of gerbils or other small fury creatures?
A cosmonaut called Vladimir
Kept a cageful of gerbils on Mir
With some nanotubes and some twine
He had a fine time
With an experiment called Richard's Gear.
. . . . ©aqk 1998
.
- aqk
F U
In general, no, we won't have hundreds of years. But there are likely some very very large asteroids out there that could cause mass extinction that could be warded off simply by acting early.
As a long term solution, we will need something like an automated foundry on the moon that continuously creates small iron cylinders and launches them on a solar-powered linear accelerator. Even if a mistake is made, such a system would allow plenty of opportunity to correct it.
For fun!--- "The Planetary Society invites you to make your best guess on how big the hole will be when NASA's Deep Impact mission releases an impactor projectile in the path of Comet Tempel 1..." -- http://planetary.org/deepimpact.