Tempel 1 Impact Day After Tomorrow

TerminaMorte wrote to mention a news.com article detailing the impending contact of the "Deep Impact" satellite with the Tempel 1 comet...at roughly 23,000 miles per hour. from the article: "We know that the crust--the outside shell of a comet and the stuff that comes off a comet--is changed by the solar wind...One of the things that we're curious about is, some people will tell you that comets actually produce organic compounds...We want to see if that's inside." Update: 07/02 22:08 GMT by Z : Updated with correct day.

Cautious optimism...

[cookiej]

Well, since this seems to be one of the first times we've gone out of our way to really put the wood to something not from Earth, let's hope Tempel 1 isn't some sort of cometary offspring whose mother will take offense and pulverize us.

Just a thought.

Re:Cautious optimism...

[toddbu]

I'm really excited about this. If you think about it, this is the first time in human history where we can really witness the interaction of a man-made object on a body in outer space. It would be kind of like looking at the Moon and being able to see the lunar landers sitting on the surface. That is, if you believe that we really went to the Moon. :-)

Been done before

[localroger]

The Apollo moon missions were observed telescopically [ua.edu] by both amateur and professional astronomers. A terrestrial observatory even provided critical tracking information for Apollo 13's final course correction.

Re:Been done before

[wwest4]

Yeah, but there was no possible optical imagery of the LEM landings. The idea that we're going to smash a (much more remote) non-terrestrial object and possibly see some results with our own eyes is pretty damned exciting from a pure entertainment perspective. It's popcorn astronomy at its finest yet!

True, but...

[localroger]

We didn't pound the crap out of the Moon with the LEMs. I do wonder if anyone had thought to look if we might have visually observed the impacts of any of the SIV-B's that were deliberately impacted. Those would have been considerably larger than the Deep Impact bullet, and a lot closer too. I can't find any hint that anyone tried to see them visually, though. If they impacted on lunar dayside, the whole event would probably have been lost in the glare.

Re:True, but...

[toddbu]

If they impacted on lunar dayside, the whole event would probably have been lost in the glare.

According to NASA [nasa.gov], the Apollo 14 S-IVB impacted in an area that would have been relatively dark at impact. I say "relatively" because the impact was west of the Apollo 14 landing site and since landings were always performed in the lunar dawn to take advantage of shadowing (the 3D effect), it was probably pretty dark in that area when the S-IVB came plowing in at 6,000+ MPH.

On an unrelated note, I've always t

Re:Cautious optimism...

[Adrilla]

Are any observatories or astrological groups recording and webcasting this? Is that even possible? I'd like to watch.

Re:Cautious optimism...

[KinkifyTheNation]

NASA had provided coverage through space.com when the Mars Rovers landed, not sure whether or not they will be doing it for this event.

Incredibly tricky......

[anubi]

To me, what NASA is doing appears to me to be damn near impossible, but they will probably do it.

Trying to ram a space probe into a comet at 23KMPH.. looks roughly as tricky as firing two rifles and so as to hit the bullets mid-flight several miles away.

And get it right on the first try.

Re:Incredibly tricky......

[joeljkp]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-06 -28-deep-impact-cover_x.htm [usatoday.com]

Says team manager Rich Gramier of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: "Basically, we have a bullet trying to hit a second bullet with a third bullet in the right place at the right time to watch."

What if

[fmobus]

What if the destruction of this object triggers some orbit change in another (far away) body? I mean, this comet is supposed to pass near some other body, but due to our "attack" it doesn't. Just a randomic thought

Re:What if

[arkanoid.dk]

Then the comet won't influence on anything else, therefore, not making any other objects go bananas... besides, they're not destroying the comet (doing so would require a little more than a small copper projectile), they're just smashing a part of the surface of it, to see what it consists of.

Apollo did that

[SiggyRadiation]

They dumped a few Ascent-stages (2 IIRC) after docking with the command module. The crew left in the CM to earth and the ascent-stages were dumped onto the moon's surface. The descent-stages (that stayed on the moon's surface) could register the "moon-quackes" caused by the crashing ascent-stages. Because of the low gravity they kept bouncing off the moon's surface for quite some time.

Re:News at 11: Aliens Pissed. France Surrenders

[erick99]

I am french and I will own up to the arrogant part but the rest, well, really now.....

Re:Cautious optimism...

[eclectro]

let's hope Tempel 1 isn't some sort of cometary offspring

Silly, it has a crust. Which means there's a caramel nougat center.

Re:Cautious optimism...

[helioquake]

You know that we sort of did this with Lunar Prospector [wikipedia.org]...the HST watched the collision, but didn't see diddly-squat (I saw the data, too).

Ok, strictly speaking the Moon may originate from Earth, so that may not count.

Re:Cautious optimism...

[MichaelSmith]

You know that we sort of did this with Lunar Prospector...the HST watched the collision, but didn't see diddly-squat (I saw the data, too).

But this was an impact with rock at 2km/s. HST was watching in case Prospector hit ice and created a cloud of vapour.

Re:Cautious optimism...

[helioquake]

No,no, you've got the signal wrong. My response was to a part of the parent's submission: "put the wood onto..." Not really thinking about comparison between DI mission vs. Lunar Prospector.

That'd be like comparing an apple and an orange.

[The HST and Chandra are scheduled to monitor this event. Wait & see what will take place then.]

Re:Cautious optimism...

[Mr. Bad Example]

> Well, since this seems to be one of the first times we've gone out of our way to really put the wood to something not from Earth

That's only if you don't count all the times Captain Kirk nailed a green chick.

Waste? Could have been better?

[kantravi]

Good idea, nice job, successful execution, lets wait for the data. But. Couldnt these folks have taken this amazing experiment 1 step further? I mean by actually using the comet as a vehicle for our data collection deep into outer space going farther and faster than our own machines. Good to learn about the comets composition and maybe we find something startling there, but the comets path(which we probably know, and hopefully it goes farther than anything we can reach) should provide a "cost effective" m

Heavens Gate part II?

[bigwavejas]

"...some people will tell you that comets actually produce organic compounds...We want to see if that's inside."

Hell yeah it's going to produce organic compounds! 10 bucks says the Heavens Gate Gang is riding shotgun in that badboy.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9803/25/heavens.gate/ [cnn.com]

Re:Heavens Gate part II?

[Seumas]

Marshall Applewhite? Is that you?

Re:Heavens Gate part II?

[Kelerain]

I went to your link and got the following error: 502 Bad Gateway Coincidence?

My prediction

[2.7182]

It starts the first intergalactic war.

Given the current state of technology

[vlad_petric]

... as long as "they" can steer a small asteroid to Earth (1km in diameter), it's total loss for us.

Re:Given the current state of technology

[Leontes]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:My prediction

[Shin Chan]

No, no.. The First Galactic Empire! .. Silly.

You humans are so arrogant!

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

A minor interplanetary conflict and you call it "intergalactic war". We could exterminate you all in a microsecond and it would be no more significant than a photon escaping from a star.

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[tritesnikov]

Protons can't escape from stars, silly. All the tons of gravity would get in the way.

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[JuliusRV]

Protons can't escape from stars, silly. All the tons of gravity would get in the way.

He wrote "photons". And even protons escape stars. Did you ever hear of solar wind?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind [wikipedia.org]

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Solar wind is caused by eating solar Mexican food.

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[tritesnikov]

Well, I mistyped proton for photon, and yes, I do know that protons can escape from stars. I was making a joke and thought that the "tons of gravity" phrase would give it away. Obviously, "tons of gravity" doesn't make any sense as a phrase. Gravity has no weight in that sense as weight is the effect of gravity on an object with mass. And yes, I have heard of solar wind.

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[Koiu Lpoi]

Yup.

Calvin: Why does it go from east to west?
Dad: Solar wind

Couldn't find a copy of the original strip...

Re:You humans are so arrogant!

[PakProtector]

Take your best shot. I've been waiting out here in the Cometary Halo for two centuries waiting for someone to start something.

So the question you need to ask yourself is..

Do you feel lucky, Punk?

Signed,
Brennan-monster

Re:My prediction

[Winkhorst]

"It starts the first intergalactic war." Oh, is it from another galaxy?

Germs

[Alex P Keaton in da]

I really hope that they decontaminate this before it ever comes back... Viruses are some of the simplest life forms, so it is more likely that there would be a virus than a humanoid alien... Who knows what havoc this could wreak.
In all seriousness, hopefully this will give us a window into the creation of the universe, or maybe just the solar system.
I have sort of an obsession with astronomy... I think my parents always thought my telescope was for peeping on the neighbor- "honest mom, the vaseline is for greasing the telescope....

Re:Germs

[Anonymous Coward]

Germs??? Comes back???

Please, if you're going to make stupid comments about it at least take the 5 minutes to read about the mission first. The impactor will be destroyed, and the flyby craft isn't coming back.

Re:Germs

[Berner]

Nope, not a problem. Even if the craft was coming back (which it is not) life on Earth has had billions of years of adapting to the conditions on this planet. Any alien bug that fell on the Earth would probably not do very well and promptly get eaten by some predatory amoeba.

And in adition to that, they are not talking about any such thing as a living germ or anything that complex, what they HOPE to find are the building blocks of life, amino-acids and such.

Re:Germs

[rbarreira]

Yeah, but then the amoeba would mutate into a dangerous being...

Space.com

[jazzman251]

Here it is at http://www.space.com/deepimpact/ [space.com]

Re:So will I be able to see this in the north east

[Shag]

The impact? No.

But if you wanted to try to see it pre-impact, you'd look (with a telescope or binoculars - it shouldn't be naked-eye) near Spica in the constellation Virgo; the comet will be near it, in the direction of Arcturus in the constellation Bootes.

If you have no idea where Spica and Arcturus are... find the Big Dipper. Follow the curve of its handle, and look across the sky a ways for a bright kinda yellowish star. That's Arcturus. Then look about that far again for a bright bluish star. That's Spica.

Or, get yourself on a flight to Maui ASAP and head over to Maui Community College, where a bunch of us will be doing a public outreach program featuring things like NASA people, live video links to observatories on Mauna Kea and Haleakala, and so on and so forth. And freebies. :)

I've only been involved with DI-related stuff for 10 months (as a telescope operator, and now for outreach) but some folks I work with have been on this for the better part of 10 years, so I hope everything goes well!

Re:So will I be able to see this in the north east

[Phroon]

Since when was Magnitude 10 easily binocular visible? Maybe if your at a really really dark site and know exactly where to look, but most people won't match these conditions. However, if it does jump up to Mag 6 as predicted, some people in rural locations might see it naked eye and it would be an easy target for binoculars.

Not tomorrow, but the day after

[MoobY]

In fact, Tempel 1 will impact on July 4th at 05:52 UTC

Re:Not tomorrow, but the day after

[Shag]

So you're saying Deep Impact happens on The Day After Tomorrow which is Independence Day?

This seems scripted...

Re:Not tomorrow, but the day after

[kronstadt]

Yes, the White Chicks at NASA always plan things out like this.

Re:Not tomorrow, but the day after

[AndroidCat]

And if the comet people get mad, followed by The Tempel of Doom.

Re:Not tomorrow, but the day after

[rabugento]

According to NASA NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft continues to sail through its final checkout, as it hurtles toward comet Tempel 1. Impact with the comet is scheduled for 1:52 a.m. EDT, July 4 (10:52 p.m. PDT, July 3).

Therefore you can choose your date...

Pic

[Alsee]

comets actually produce organic compounds...We want to see if that's inside

Scientists discover: It's gigantic and filled with semi-organic compounds! [wolx.com]

-

P.S.

[Alsee]

P.S.
No that's not a link to the Goatse pic.

-

2001

[writermike]

"My God. It's full of stars."

Bets anyone?

[LouisZepher]

Given the failed Mars projects, who wants to place bets that this plan to intentionally crash the probe will result in a safe "three-point" landing?

Sounds familiar...

[MalusCaelestis]

One of the things that we're curious about is, some people will tell you that comets actually produce organic compounds...We want to see if that's inside.

So this is, what, the most expensive episode of MythBusters ever?

Re:Sounds familiar...

[NathanBFH]

Well, the mods may not agree but _I_ thought that was hilarious. :oD

It's NASA

[Anne_Nonymous]

>> roughly 23,000 miles per hour

It's NASA we're talking about here folks. The smart money says they ruin the experiment by only smashing into the comet at 23,000 kilometers an hour.

Re:It's NASA

[MyLongNickName]

Metric hours or imperial hours?

TripMasterMonkey Tribute

[Anonymous Coward]

Good day, gentlemen. As you are no doubt aware, I have perfected a device capable of altering the orbital path of comets. First of all, I must offer kudos on a most inspired cover story...'scientific experiment' indeed...really, a first rate piece of propagan-da. Of course, you know it cannot last...

You see, gentlemen, things will only get worse...my device, which I've dubbed 'the Cometrix', will continue destablizing our solar systems' comets' orbits, drawing them ever closer to our fragile planet. First

Redneck Scientists

[Eclypser]

Government scientists say the price tag is worth it. "One, we'll learn about comets," said NASA's Wessen. "Two, we'll learn about how that applies to the Earth, whether it brought organic material to the Earth...We can even learn, if a comet was coming our way, what it would take to deflect one of those things."
"Three, we get to blow sh*t up, YEEE HAAAAA"

the creamy center

[commodoresloat]

Mmmm.... organic compounds....

Ecologists!

[Anonymous Coward]

it's legal to do this?
it's like throw a bomb over a national park to see if there are some fossils!
where is Green Peace?!

Re:Ecologists!

[Mr. Foogle]

I know - don't feed the Trolls.

But to answer your questions

1) Yes.

2) No, it's not. It's not a national park, it's a bit of trash flying around the Solar System.

3) Green Peace? Lord God spare us.

Not really 23,000 miles an hour

[onion2k]

contact of the "Deep Impact" satellite with the Tempel 1 comet...at roughly 23,000 miles per hour

That's very deceptive. It's the relative velocity of the comet and the probe that's important, not the absolute speed. If it really made contact going at 23,000 miles an hour relative to the comet.. well.. I don't think we can expect much useful science back from it.

Re:Not really 23,000 miles an hour

[imsabbel]

thats the whole point!
It has the relative velocity, just to smash a reall big hole into it. The analysation will be done from safe distance using spectroscopy.

Re:Not really 23,000 miles an hour

[Cruithne]

23,000 mph *is* the relative velocity of the comet and the probe. Useful science can and frequently does occur from smashing things together or big explosions - see the fields of cosmology, astronomy, and particle physics.

Re:Not really 23,000 miles an hour

[jswhitten]

23,000 miles per hour is the relative velocity.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/050628mis sion.html [spaceflightnow.com]

Both the Deep Impact spacecraft and comet Tempel 1 are in their own unique orbits around the Sun. However, the comet is traveling substantially faster (29.9 kilometers per second (66,880 miles per hour)) than the spacecraft (21.9 kilometers per second (48,990 miles per hour)). ... the comet actually runs over it at a relative velocity of 10.3 kilometers per second (about 23,000 miles per hour).

Re:Not really 23,000 miles an hour

[huge]

absolute speed

There is no such thing.

Countdown counter

[rbarreira]

Here it is [spacetoday.org]

I hope it's correct :)

Re:Countdown counter

[zoloto]

In WinXP I've made this a part of my desktop via active desktop. Here's how:

Open The Display properties (righ-click desktop, properties)
Click the Desktop Tab
Click customize desktop tab
Click WEB tab
Click "NEW"
Enter http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Comets/DeepImpac t CountdownSmall.html [spacetoday.org] as the URL
Click OK
Click OK again to get out of the display properties

It's sitting on my desktop right now with the countdown. Nifty eh?

~z

Re:Countdown counter

[rbarreira]

Nice idea, maybe I'll do the same :)

But you made a small mistake - I think you used the URL tag which ocasionally haves slashcode inserting spaces in the middle of the url (it tries to avoid very long "words"). So everyone eliminate the space between "Impact" and "Countdown".

Now that I've written this... Where do I think I am, in some gastronomy internet forum? :|

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

I for one...

[Nitromaroder]

welcome our new space germs overlords!

I've got a dollar that says...

[UberDork]

... they knock it off course and it comes plummetting into Earth, thus fulfilling the prophecy that one day, one of these things will hit us.

Organic = Carbon

[Anonymous Coward]

Organic compounds means compounds of Carbon... Not living tissue.

Re:Organic = Carbon

[The_Wilschon]

Oh dang, I was hoping this would solve the organ donor deficit problem.

Posted elsewhere, sorry...

[PHAEDRU5]

Texas-sized comet, accidentally knocked off-kilter by NASA probe, hits...
T E X A S

!!!!!

Yeah, baby, yeaaaah!

Re:Posted elsewhere, sorry...

[mmu_man]

Let's just hope Bush be in his ranch by that time...
(what makes you think I'm french ? :P)

Deep Impact on dirty snowball theory

[Anonymous Coward]

Proponents of the Electric Universe [electric-universe.info] theory have gone out on a limb ahead of Deep Impact [nasa.gov]. They're predicting it will show comets are just rocks [thunderbolts.info] and not dirty snowballs.
Controversially they assert comets are highly negatively-charged asteroids on eccentric orbits. As they travel further into the Sun's radial positive electric field, they discharge into space, expelling material at supersonic speed.

Re:Deep Impact on dirty snowball theory

[js7a]

Yeah, well, I predict comets are both rocks and ice.

I predict it'll be Apollo's chariot

[SteeldrivingJon]

I predict they'll find that it's really Apollo in his chariot, and boy, will he be pissed off.

Obligatory

[OrbNobz]

That's no comet...
Wait, that's no probe either, it's an ICBM!

- OrbNobz
I can't believe I'm not famous!

lots of trajectory change fears/questions

[simul]

I have seen several comments from people who are concerned that we may alter the trajectory of Tempel 1.

Hitting this comet is like hitting a 747 with a small pebble. It's highly unlikely that the 747 will crash.

But it's *not* impossible. Suppose Deep Impact were to ignite material within the comet that it was designed to penetrate? Or suppose the crater were to spew ejecta for a long period of time (it already is spewing more than expected). Certainly, the impact of NASA's mission won't *directly* affect