Up Close and Personal

A stunning close-up photo of Comet Hartley 2 from the Nov. 4, 2010 flyby performed by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. This close-up view of comet Hartley 2 was captured by the spacecraft's Medium-Resolution Instrument.

Round on Both Ends, Thin in the Middle

This is another of the first images sent back to Earth from the NASA's EPOXI mission after it flew by Comet Hartley 2 around 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) on Nov. 4, 2010.

Meteors From Comet Hartley 2 Amaze Skywatchers

This is how Comet Hartley 2 might appear in the eyepiece of a large amateur telescope. Located about eight degrees (16 full moon diameters) away from the bright star Procyon as it leaves the constellation Gemini, Comet Hartley will be best viewed high in the sky just before dawn.

Comet Hartley 2 and Earth's Ocean Water

Measurements from the Herschel Space Observatory show that comet Hartley 2, which comes from the distant Kuiper Belt, contains water with the same chemical signature as water in Earth's oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth’s surface ended up covered in water.

Have Instruments, Will Travel

An artist's conception illustrates a close-up look at NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. NASA is now evaluating future uses for this spacecraft.

Comet Hartley 2 with Spectra of "Normal" and "Heavy" Water

This NASA EPOXI mission image shows the nucleus of comet Hartley 2 with overlaid spectra of the "normal" and "heavy" water, as observed with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infraredaboard Europe's Herschel Space Observatory.

Get Close

This is one of the first images sent back to Earth from the NASA's EPOXI mission after it flew by Comet Hartley 2 around 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) on Nov. 4, 2010.

Take 5

This image montage shows Comet Hartley 2 as NASA's EPOXI mission approached and flew under the comet. The images progress in time clockwise, starting at top left.

Q&A With Malcolm Hartley, Discoverer of Comet Hartley 2

Malcolm Hartley discovered Comet Hartley 2 back in 1986. On Nov. 4, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will make a close flyby of the comet, coming within a mere 435 miles (700 kilometers).

I Can See Your Comet From Here

Hubble Space Telescope observations of Comet 103P/Hartley 2, taken on Sept. 25, 2010, are helping in the planning for a Nov. 4 flyby of the comet by the Deep Impact eXtended Investigation (DIXI) on NASA's EPOXI spacecraft.

Close Flyby of Comet Hartley 2

This video shows the view from NASA\'s EPOXI/Deep Impact spacecraft during its flyby of comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4, 2010.

Space Pickle? Bowling Pin? Comet Hartley 2 Takes Curious Shape

Twelve radar images of the nucleus of Comet Hartley 2, taken by the Arecibo Observatory from Oct. 25 to 27, 2010.

Comet Hartley 2 Fires Out Poison Gas as NASA Probe Nears

Discovery image of Comet Hartley 2, which Malcolm Hartley found in 1986.

Poor Little Greenie

Comet Hartley 2 was still too faint to be seen with the unaided eye when it was captured in this photograph at a distance of about 18 million miles from Earth on Sept. 28, 2010 by NASA astronomer Bill Cooke.

Twin Fireballs May Have Come From Comet Hartley 2

These two fireballs with orbits similar to the comet Hartley 2 were observed on Oct. 16. 2010 by cameras in western Ontario (left) and the southeastern USA (right). The fireballs may have been caused by meteors from the comet.

Comet Hartley 2 Gets Visit from Deep Impact Spacecraft

NASA's Deep Impact probe took this image of comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 2, 2010, from a distance of 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles). The white blob and the halo around it are the comet's outer cloud of gas and dust, called a coma. At this distance, the spacecraft captures images with a resolution of about 23 kilometers/pixel (14 miles/pixel).

Comet Hartley 2 Encounters The Moon

Comet Hartley 2\'s path on the sky makes it appear especially close to the Moon on October 28th 2010.

Photos: Comet Hartley 2 Up Close

Date: 05 October 2011 Time: 09:00 AM ET
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