Tempel 1
Quick Summary
Comet Tempel 1 is a small celestial body composed of volatile ices that orbits the Sun. When it approaches the Sun, these ices sublimate, creating a visible atmosphere called a coma, along with dust particles. This process forms two tails: one of ionized molecules and another of dust.
In 2005, the U.S. space probe Deep Impact intentionally collided a projectile with Tempel 1's nucleus to study its composition and the resulting crater. This mission provided valuable data on the structure and makeup of comets, revealing that Tempel 1's nucleus was highly porous and less dense than water ice.1
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cometSpacecraft exploration of comets…spacecraft that would fly by Comet 9P/Tempel 1 and a daughter spacecraft that would be deliberately crashed into the comet nucleus. The mother spacecraft would take images of the impact. The daughter spacecraft contained its own camera system to image the nucleus surface up to the moment of impact. To…
Read More…spacecraft that would fly by Comet 9P/Tempel 1 and a daughter spacecraft that would be deliberately crashed into the comet nucleus. The mother spacecraft would take images of the impact. The daughter spacecraft contained its own camera system to image the nucleus surface up to the moment of impact. To…
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Deep Impact…the nucleus of the comet Tempel 1 and then analyzing the debris and crater. In 2007 the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft was assigned a new mission called EPOXI, consisting of two projects: Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh) and Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI).
Read More…the nucleus of the comet Tempel 1 and then analyzing the debris and crater. In 2007 the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft was assigned a new mission called EPOXI, consisting of two projects: Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh) and Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI).
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