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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
![Asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft as of December 2012, in color, excepting Vesta [DEPRECATED]](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x1200_crop_center-center_82_line/130437/20121218_asteroids_comets_sc_0-000-100_2012_color_brightened.jpg.webp)
My ever-popular asteroids-and-comets montage, now in color, with bonus Toutatis
My collage of all the asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft is probably the single most popular image I have ever posted on this blog. I've now updated it to be in color and to include Toutatis.
365 Days of Astronomy Podcast: Stardust at Tempel 1
Yesterday the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast aired my contribution, Stardust at Tempel 1: The First Second Trip to a Comet.
Stardust prepares for first second look at a comet: Tempel 1 on February 14
A press briefing was held at NASA Headquarters this morning to preview the planned February 14 encounter by Stardust with Tempel 1. There aren't often lots of questions from media after these
Asteroids and comets to scale, including Hartley 2
Just in time for today's Deep Impact press briefing, which you can watch on NASA TV in a few minutes: I've updated my montage of all the asteroids and comets that have been visited and photographed to include Hartley 2.
Five close-approach images of Hartley 2 by Deep Impact, with commentary
Here's the five close-approach images of Hartley 2 captured today, November 4, 2010, by the Deep Impact spacecraft, collected into one file. Boy, do these images reward close examination!
The Stardust Sample Catalog
It never ceases to amaze me how much science is being wrung out of the few grams of material that were returned to Earth by the Stardust mission.