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This spectacular image of comet Tempel 1 was taken 67 seconds after it obliterated NASA's Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft.
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Tempel Alive with Light

This spectacular image of comet Tempel 1 was taken 67 seconds after it obliterated Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft. The image was taken by the high-resolution camera on the mission's flyby craft. Scattered light from the collision saturated the camera's detector, creating the bright splash seen here. Linear spokes of light radiate away from the impact site, while reflected sunlight illuminates most of the comet surface. The image reveals topographic features, including ridges, scalloped edges and possibly impact craters formed long ago.

Image details

ID#:
PIA02137

Date added:
2005-07-05

Target:
Tempel 1

Mission:
Deep Impact

Spacecraft:
Deep Impact

Instruments:
High Resolution Imager (HRI)

Size:
900 x 900 pixels (width x height)

Rating:



Views:
3,366

Full-Res TIFF:
PIA02137.tif (0.81 MB)

Full-Res JPG:
PIA02137.jpg (0.03 MB)

Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD