NASA's Deep Impact generates its own spectacular photo flash

"you can not help but get a big flash when objects meet at 23,000 miles per hour, "said Deep Impact co-investigator Dr. pete Schultz of Brown University, providers', R. i. "the heat produced by impact was at least several thousand degrees kelvin and at that extreme temperature just about any material begins to glow. essentially, we generated our own incandescent photo flash for less than a second. "

the flash created by the impact was just one of the visual surprises that confronted the Deep Impact Team. preliminary assessment of the images and data downlinked from the flyby spaceconhave provided an amazing glimpse into the life of a comet.

"They say a picture can speak a thousand words," said deep impact project manager Rick grammier of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "but when you take a look at some of the ones we captured in the early morning hours of July 4, 2005 I think you can write a whole encyclopedia."

At a news conference held later on July 4, Deep Impact Team members displayed a movie depicting the final moments of the impactor's life. the final image from the impactor was transmitted from the short-lived probe three seconds before it met its fiery end.

"The final image was taken from a distance of about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the comet's surface," said Deep Impact principal investigator Dr. michael a' Hearn of the University of Maryland, College Park. "From that close distance we can resolve features on the surface that are less than 4 meters (about 13 feet) Guest ss. when I signed on for this mission I wanted to get a close-up look at a CO Met, but this is ridiculous... In a great way ."

"When an object collided at a speed of 23000 mph, you can't do anything except see a strong flash, "said Peter Schultz, an observer for the Deep Impact Project and a doctor at Brown University in providers' city. "The heat produced by the impact should be at least several thousand keravans, and the extreme temperature can make any substance glow. In fact, our camera has no more than one second of exposure (the original article is essentially, we generated our own incandescent photo flash for less than a second ).

The fireworks produced by the collision are just one of the singular scenes faced by the Deep Impact Group. The images and data returned by the spacecraft initially provide an amazing scene (impact effect) in the life of the comet ).

"People say that a picture can express a lot of meaning," said Rick of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, director of the Deep Impact Project.Grammier said, "If you take a look at some pictures we took on the morning of October July 4, you should be able to write an encyclopedia"

At a press conference after the July 4 impact, the Deep Impact Team presented a video recording the final part of the percussion device.The last 3 seconds before the impala burned down, its short-lived detector sent back the image.

"The final picture was taken 30 kilometers away from the comet's surface," said Dr. Michael a' Hearn, chief observer for Deep Impact at the Park School of Maryland State University, "at such a close distance, we can understand the composition of matter 4 meters deep on the comet's surface. when I joined the program, I hoped to get close-up of the comet, but the idea was a bit ridiculous (this hit."