"Deep Impact: A Smashing Success!"
By Bryan K. Scott



July 5th, 2005

     A bright flash of light was captured by the Deep Impact probe’ cameras as the Impactor made contact with Tempel 1.  The impactor smashed into Tempel 1 at 1:52 a.m. on July 4th, exactly when the NASA scientists predicted.  The scientists, also, theorize that the impactor vaporized deep beneath the comet’s surface when the two collided at a speed of over 6 miles per second.


    The flash was due to the heat created when the impactor and the comet collided.  The temperature was thought to be several thousand degrees Kelvin.  At that temperature, any material begins to glow.  This allowed the impactor’s collision to act as a flash bulb for the spacecraft’s cameras.


    This was just one of many visual surprises confronted the NASA Deep Impact team.  The preliminary images and downloaded data from the flyby spacecraft have revealed some amazing information about the life of the comet.


    At a news conference held on July 4th, the impact team displayed a movie depicting the final moments of the Impactor’s life.  The last images transmitted from the probe about three seconds before it burned up inside the comet.


    The flight control team of NASA is also taking a look at the telemetry gathered by the probe.  They were concerned when the initial maneuver of the impactor moved it about 4 ¼ miles off course, but were satisfied when the second and third maneuver put the impactor right back on target.

    The mission of the Deep Impact probe was to provide a glimpse of the core of the comet that lies beneath a thick layer of ice.  In here, it was believed, that this is where all the information about the solar system’s formation was contained.  The new information that the NASA scientists have gathered makes them believe that now more than ever.
All pictures are courtesy of NASA.gov.

Bryan Scott is a part time writer/columnist who comes to The Fedora Chronicles from Oklahoma.  He’s a big fan of sci-fi in general.  Also enjoys baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and soccer… As well as  anything dealing with computers and NASA. He’s the security supervisor at a auto parts manufacturing plant.  He's married with THREE beautiful little girls…
Your thoughts? Drop us a line through our letters box.