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Home Front: Tech
Probe set for comet collision
2005-07-03
News on the Deep Impact probe.
Posted by:Steve White

#18  Asteroids or comets can be thought of as unorganized planets or pre-planets - I just hope the Science boyz correctly calcul the "hardness" of this rock, and the correct level of blast. WE don't want TEMPEL to come apart in full view of NASA's watchful cameras - sorry but FOXNEWS simulation foootage of the blast occurring in the leaner center between TEMPEL's two large lobes doesn't allay my concern. OTOH, iff one of the lobes does fracture off and smashes into the earth, we can find out if ole Terra Firma can take the dynamics of a PLANET X or the MOON CHUNKS Of 2030, etc.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2005-07-03 23:31  

#17  Could be you're a developer too.
Posted by: R   2005-07-03 17:03  

#16  I think it's exaggeration - the overlap exceeds the differences. Buy if you like.

I'm no longer a mere programmer, I'm a software engineer, an archtitect, even.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-03 16:31  

#15  Er, sorry, guys. That was me.

I'd love to hear someone explain how "planetary" geology differs from "regular" geology...

Not being a geologist, I'm not sure, but it prolly has something do with all those other planets not being a lot like earth. Change processes include things like hydrology, vulcanism, and plate tectonics, which not all other worlds have.

It's kinda like how being an astrophysicist isn't exactly like being a physicist.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2005-07-03 16:05  

#14  As far as the fuzzy blob goes. I find fuzzy blobs all the time, nebulas, gobular clusters, many 10th magn or higher, this little bastard is damend hard to find and has been "lost" several times since it's original discovery.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom   2005-07-03 15:52  

#13  Saddam's interest in probes is prolly a recent phenomenon. But just for fun, I'll respond a bit.

I worked for SAIC, too - 4 of the last 6 years, in fact. Spectroscopy is her specialty, as I read it, and applies because the probe trajectory is supposed to be aligned so that, upon impact, the ejecta will have the sun behind it, from the POV of their spectrography gear on the "mother ship". If everything works, they'll get some definitive shots telling them the elements / chemistry of the comet area impacted. That's cool. We had spectroscopy hotshots in the awl bidness, too.

I'd love to hear someone explain how "planetary" geology differs from "regular" geology, heh. The elements, minerals, lithology, and change processes are, I'd wager, universal, lol. I knew bunches of geologists, as you might expect, in the awl bidness. My favorite guy was also a physicist and decided to put a sign above the door of his office claiming that he was a "Fizziologist", heh.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-03 15:32  

#12  good research from a prison cell Saddam!
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-03 14:15  

#11  Here's some info on Sunshine, complete with photo. She has a PhD in planetary geology (I deduce) from Brown. Don't see any "PC and puffery". (Yeah, yeah, the name, I admit...)

Got an asteroid named after her, but then, so do a lot of people.
Posted by: Saddam Hussein   2005-07-03 13:47  

#10  Yep, natural association of space affairs
Posted by: Shipman   2005-07-03 12:12  

#9  'These materials have not seen the light of day for 4.6 billion years,' said Jessica Sunshine, a scientist working on the mission. 'That's what we're waiting to see.'

The NASA Rainbow, another Clinton legacy, reflecting the full spectrum of "talent", from the best and brightest to the PC and puffery.

BTW, it's NASA you illiterate Observer twits, it's an acronym (look it up, if you must) - so cap it.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-03 12:03  

#8  What you're seeing is not the "dirty ice ball" itself but the stream of particles that trail behind it in the solar wind. Everything depends on the angle at which the comet approaches the sun, as seen from Earth. The better the angle, the more reflected sunolight from the comet's contrail.

I remember Kohoutek as a bust too. But Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp (love that name!) were beautiful. I remember showing our youngest kids the "fuzzy stars from the back porch.

Happy hunting!
Posted by: mom   2005-07-03 11:48  

#7  The good stuff will be coming down from the flyby vehicles cameras. Might be some approach shots now, you never know.
Posted by: mojo   2005-07-03 11:46  

#6  will Bruce Willis be narrating? Aerosmith in the background?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-03 11:34  

#5  From the Deep Impact website, on observing the event through telescopes:

Q: What will I see?

A: Before impact, you will see a very dim fuzzball through a telescope. After impact, we expect that you will see a brighter fuzzball through the telescope.


Sounds... spectacular.
Posted by: Dave D.   2005-07-03 10:27  

#4  Comets are always a bastard to see, it's some sorta law. My favorite bust is still Comet Kohoutek, see it in the daylight! read the newspaper at night by its glow! I spent many frustrating nights when I was a mere yut trying to find that SOB with a 2.4 refractor which had so much chromic aberration you could never be certain what you were seeing.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-07-03 10:08  

#3  I spent most of the evening trying to find that comet. It's damn hard to see.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom   2005-07-03 04:53  

#2  <¶;Ð
Posted by: Crager Unogum1325   2005-07-03 02:22  

#1  News on the Deep Impact probe.

mind outta em gutter... mind outta em gutter... mind outta em gutter... mind outta em gutter...

ima can do it now...
Posted by: muck4doo   2005-07-03 02:03  

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