Deep Impact Shows Comet Scientists Something New
Posted: October 23, 2010 Filed under: American Astronomical Society, astronomers, Astronomical Societies, astronomy, comet Hartley 2, comets, Deep Impact, Earth, EPOXI mission, Goddard Flight Center, International Astronomical Union, John Hopkins University, NASA, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, National Solar Observatory, Royal Astronomical Society, Sol, The Earth, the solar system | Tags: astronomers, astronomy, comet Hartley 2, comets, Deep Impact, EPOXI mission, NASA Leave a comment »
- The EPOXI mission is just the first step
Deep Impact approaches comet Hartley 2 and will arrive at its nearest location on November 4
NASA’s EPOXI mission is currently on a journey to comet Hartley 2 and Deep Impact as this mission is more commonly referred too will arrive at its nearest spot to this icy world on November 4. NASA was using imagers on Deep Impact during the days between September 9-17 to get a view of comet Hartley 2 before the spacecraft arrives on location and the things they saw has NASA’s comet scientists shaking their heads. Apparently, comet scientists observed the characteristic increase in the release of cyanide associated with comets as they travel through the inner solar system, by a factor of five or six times during this observation period in September. What they didn’t see was the expected increase in dust emissions due to this five fold increase in the release of cyanide, which is something new according to comet scientists, who are now busy trying to figure out what they actually saw.
Why would the difference be so important to comet scientists as Deep Impact approaches comet Hartley 2? Scientists hate unknown parameters being suddenly thrown into their well calculated plans and this discovery certainly could affect the mission in ways we’ll possibly never hear about. Where did the dust go? The dust obviously didn’t go anywhere and is still close to comet Hartley 2, which could effect the quality of the view observers will get of Hartley 2. This will especially be true for observers on Earth, who now that they know about this fact can certainly take this fact into consideration. Otherwise, this fact is going to skew your observations and your interpretation of what you’re actually seeing when trying to view comet Hartley 2 from Earth. Certainly, this isn’t likely to seriously affect the mission as a whole, and Deep Impact will surely get some spectacular pictures of comet Hartley 2 as it approaches and recedes from the sun.
The interesting thing about comets releasing significant amounts of cyanide is that cyanide is a carbon-based molecule that certainly could have been brought to Earth on comets like Hartley 2 billions of years in the past. Comets haven’t changed since this time and have been hitting the Earth and releasing cyanide since this time, which brings up interesting questions that NASA is hoping the EPOXI mission and follow up missions to other comets is going to answer in the years ahead.
Begin Planning Your Journey to Comet 103P/Hartley
Posted: September 13, 2010 Filed under: astronomers, astronomy, Comet 103P/Hartley, comets, Malcolm Hartley, NASA, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, Sol, the solar system | Tags: astronomers, astronomy, Cassiopeia, Comet 103P/Hartley, comets, Malcolm Hartley, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, Sol, space, the Earth, the solar system, time machine to the stars Leave a comment »Board your time machine to the stars near the end of October
Comet 103P/Hartley leaves a trail as it travels through the inner solar system
September is the time for you and the kids to begin planning a journey to a celestial body that will be at its closest point to Earth and Sol, sometime near the end of October. Comet 103P/Hartley has been in the news, of late, as NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft will fly by Comet 103P/Hartley, in the first part of November. Observers boarding their time-machine-to-the-stars at this time should get a nice view of Comet 103P/Hartley and it might even be possible to view this celestial object with the naked eye, depending on the environmental conditions at the time of viewing. A good pair of viewing binoculars should give viewers a great view of Comet 103P/Hartley, but your time machine to the stars is the best way to journey to Comet 103P/Hartley, to have a look at a celestial object that only becomes viewable during specific periods of time. Comet 103P/Hartley is returning to Earth for the fourth time, since Australian astronomer Malcolm Hartley discovered her in 1986. A short-period comet that loops through the inner solar system, Comet 103P/Hartley’s space journey takes about 6.5 years to complete one orbit. You should arrive at Comet 103P/Hartley just before the arrival of NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft.
During the visit by NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft, space scientists will use the information and data provided by on-board cameras and instruments to help them pierce the shroud surrounding the comet and hopefully determine the source of dusty jets viewed on Comet 103P/Hartley. Dusty jets that have been dancing in the dreams of space scientists, since they first viewed them through Earth-bound telescopes, which show the effect as a pinprick of light at the center of the comet’s glow. Astronomers and space scientists refer to this effect as a comet’s “false nucleus”, which hides the comets real surface from view.
Comet 103P/Hartley is becoming more visible to star gazers as it approaches the Earth and Sun. This celestial object could reach magnitude 10 near the end of September, which will make viewing easier for star gazers, and allow space scientists to study this comet closer. The best time for star gazers to view Comet 103P/Hartley will be under a dark sky starting around September 24. Comet 103P/Hartley will be in the arms of Cassiopeia at this time, south of Cassiopeia’s w-shaped asterism, and will be viewable throughout the night.
