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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
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.
Notes from the morning-after press conference
Here in Von Karman auditorium at JPL, as they get ready for the press conference, they are playing
Deep Impact Comet Crash Produces Great Big Comet Flash
The Deep Impact mission seems to have produced an impact crash beyond the expectations, but not the hopes, of the science team.
The Deep Impactor is safely on its way!
I woke this morning to find a press release in my Inbox that said:
Quotes from Deep Impact "Pre-Impact Update" press conference at JPL
The panel consists of: Andy Danztler, Solar System Division Director at NASA HQ; Rick Grammier, Deep Impact Project Manager, JPL; Jennifer Rocca, Deep Impact Systems Engineer, JPL; and Mike A'Hearn, Principal Investigator, University of Maryland.
A couple of notes on the Deep Impact images
After the press conference I asked Mike A'Hearn a couple of questions about the raw images we're seeing online.
Deep Impact On Course for Comet Crash; Mission Is Already Producing Science Returns
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is set for its date with Comet Tempel 1.
The Planetary Society Asks "Where is Cosmos 1?" Received Signals May Have Come from Solar Sail Spacecraft in Orbit
The Planetary Society continues to investigate the mystery of what happened to its Cosmos 1 spacecraft - a joint project with Cosmos Studios - that launched last week on a Russian Volna rocket.
Cassini-Huygens anniversary
In the midst of all this hoopla about Deep Impact, I haven't been able to give the proper attention to Cassini, which began its second year of operations at Saturn today.
The Mystery of Cosmos 1
I know I've probably disappointed a few people by not having had anything much to say about Cosmos 1 for a while. It's because, well, we haven't had anything much to say.
Deep Impact encounter minus 3 days
OK, I'm in...I arrived at an unusually empty Jet Propulsion Laboratory this morning in advance of the first Deep Impact encounter press conference.
Changes to the Deep Impact encounter timeline
A reader has pointed out that JPL has changed their online press kit for Deep Impact, which was my primary source material for the encounter timeline.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Rocks Independence as Opportunity Celebrates With Road Trip
The Mars Exploration Rovers are still going strong, and both robot field geologists will be working through the July 4th holiday.
News: All of Earth's Eyes Are on Tempel 1 as Deep Impact Zeroes In on Comet...
With four days remaining until Deep Impact crashes into comet Tempel 1, the comet is looming larger and larger in the public view.
Heads up: the Deep Impact encounter is coming up!
Less than a week remains before the Deep Impact mission is set to meet its fate at Tempel 1. A mission like this has been a dream for planetary scientists for a long time.
"Mars Spectacular!"
Apparently there is a bogus email circulating around the Web with the following text:
News: Dark Spot Near the South Pole: A Candidate Lake on Titan?
The Cassini imaging team has released an image containing a feature unlike any other that they have seen on Titan. The very dark color, curvaceous outline, and sharp edge of the feature have led them to the conclusion that it could well be the long-theorized but never-before-seen body of liquid hydrocarbons on the surface of Titan.
A new adventure
Announcing The Planetary Society's Weblog.
A couple of pics from Cassini at periapsis
Cassini's been in orbit around Saturn for almost exactly a year now, and the mission seems pretty much to have dropped off of the public radar screen. But there's still three years to go on the primary mission, and lots left to do, and I for one am not at all bored.