Emily LakdawallaJul 04, 2005

Views of Tempel 1

It looks like the European Space Agency was busy overnight -- lots of great Earth- and space- based images of the impact have been appearing on various websites. Here's a set from Hubble:

Tempel 1 as seen by Hubble, a minute prior to impact (July 4, 2005 at 05:51 UTC)
Tempel 1 as seen by Hubble, a minute prior to impact (July 4, 2005 at 05:51 UTC) Image: NASA, ESA, P. Feldman (JHU) and H. Weaver (JHU/APL)
Tempel 1 as seen by Hubble, 19 minutes after impact (July 4, 2005 at 06:01 UTC)
Tempel 1 as seen by Hubble, 19 minutes after impact (July 4, 2005 at 06:01 UTC) The comet's brightness increased by a factor of 4, and the cloud of gas and dust around the nucleus spread out to about 200 kilometers wide.Image: NASA, ESA, P. Feldman (JHU) and H. Weaver (JHU/APL)
The Deep Impact Impact onto Tempel 1 as witnessed by Hubble
The Deep Impact Impact onto Tempel 1 as witnessed by Hubble This photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope at 07:20 UTC on July 4, 2005, 28 minutes after the Deep Impact Impactor spacecraft crashed into the comet. The fan-like cloud of gas and dust extends about 1800 kilometers from the nucleus.Image: NASA, ESA, P. Feldman (JHU) and H. Weaver (JHU/APL)

This view is from ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft.

The Deep Impact Impact onto Tempel 1 as witnessed by XMM-Newton
The Deep Impact Impact onto Tempel 1 as witnessed by XMM-Newton This view is from ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft. Two channels were used, blue, and ultraviolet. The top three images were taken through the blue channel and show the expansion of the post-impact cloud surrounding the comet. The bottom three images were taken through the ultraviolet channel, in a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum that is sensitive to the presence of the hydroxyl ion, OH-, which is the first direct decay product of water.Image: ESA/MSSL/Optical Monitor team. Image by Charo Gonzales and Pedro Rodriguez, ESAC (Spain)

Support our core enterprises

Your support powers our mission to explore worlds, find life, and defend Earth. You make all the difference when you make a gift. Give today!

Donate