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Comets
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 Near Its Closest Point to Earth
Comet Tempel 1, the Deep Impact target, observed from the 2.1-m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. This image was obtained on April 11, 2005, when the comet was near its closest approach to the Earth. A pinkish dust jet is visible to the southwest, with the broader neutral gas coma (CN, shown in blue) surrounding it. North is up, East is to the left, and the field of view is about 80,000 km (50,000 miles) wide. The Sun was almost directly behind the observer at this time. The red, green and blue bars in the background are stars that moved between the individual images. Click to enlarge.
Credit: Dr. Tony Farnham and Matthew Knight (University of Maryland).
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