Sunday, April 17, 2011

Comet Hartley 2 detailed close-up by NASA's EPOXI Mission

Comet Hartley 2 detailed close-up by NASA's EPOXI Mission
Click on the image to enlarge

Comet Hartley 2 can be seen in glorious detail in this image from NASA's EPOXI mission. It was taken as the spacecraft flew by, from a distance of about 700 kilometers (435 miles). The comet's nucleus, or main body, is approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long and .4 kilometers (.25 miles) at the "neck," or most narrow portion. Jets can be seen streaming out of the nucleus. The mission's Medium-Resolution Instrument was used to capture this view. The sun is to the right.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD

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