NASA’s Spacecraft Beamed Back First Close-Up Photos of Comet Hartley 2 !!!

November 4, 2010 by Nataly in Science

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NASA’s spacecraft has transmitted back the first five brand new close-up images of tiny, pockmarked Comet Hartley 2, flashed up on a big screen. The images show the comet about one mile wide that looks like a giant chicken drumstick, or maybe a peanut or bowling pin.

This morning, a space probe launched five years ago to study comets, Deep Impact, zoomed to within 435 miles of Comet Hartley 2 and successfully completed its flyby.

Tim Larson, EPOXI boffin at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said: “The mission team and scientists have worked hard for this day. It’s good to see Hartley 2 up close.”

Mission control erupted into applause at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab when they received the first “I’m still alive” information from the spacecraft and five high-resolution images flashed up on a big screen. Researchers have said that these pictures will continue to flood researchers’ computers in the hours and days to come.

A small comet that orbits every 6.46 years, Hartley 2 was discovered back in March 1986. The Deep Impact was lifted off from Earth in January 2005 and has passed by comet Hartley 2 fifth time since then.