Comet-blaster Spacecraft Hits Target Today

[george]

Comet-blaster spacecraft hits target today

CHACHOENGSAO: -- Hundreds of comet watchers will converge on two Chach-oengsao schools to view today's collision between a comet and an American spacecraft.

Benjamaratrangsarit school in Muang district has set up a telescope to allow students, parents and other enthusiasts to view the impact between comet Tempel 1 and a 372kg copper projectile released by Deep Impact, a probe launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The collision will occur at 1pm local time, said Chuchart Paenoi, head of the Benjamaratrangsarit science group.

Paikaew Witthaya school in Plaeng Yao district has set up a science camp with three telescopes for students and others interested in studying the impact, school director Detduang Chengjai said.

Deep Impact's mission is to blast a huge hole in the comet to allow scientists to study the primordial ingredients at its core. The craft was launched on its 431-million-kilometre, six-month voyage from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Jan 12.

Voravit Tanwutthibandit, adviser to the Thai Astronomy Association, said no explosives were needed since the energy from the impact will be similar to detonating nearly five tonnes of TNT.

The collision was expected to make a crater about 200 metres across and 50 metres deep. Deep Impact released its barrel-sized ``impactor'' yesterday. The high-speed smash should be visible from parts of the Western Hemisphere.

Comets contain the frozen primordial ingredients of the solar system and studying them could provide clues to how the Sun and planets formed.

Nasa says an impact will not significantly change the comet's orbital path around the Sun, so the US$333 million experiment poses no danger to Earth.

Tempel 1, a pickle-shaped comet, is now about 130 million kilometres from Earth. Today's event is the first attempt by the US space agency to catch a glimpse of the pristine core of a comet. Mission scientists have acknowledged the project's difficulties. Among the challenges is making sure the probe stays on course as it hurtles toward the comet without guidance from Mission Control.

There's also the chance that the cloud of gas and dust surrounding the comet's nucleus may damage the spacecraft and probe and prevent data transmissions back to Earth. Comets are blobs of ice and dust that orbit the Sun and were born about 4.5 billion years ago _ nearly the same time as the solar system itself.

When a cloud of gas and dust condensed to form the Sun and planets, comets formed from what was left over. Studying them could shed light on how the solar system formed.

--AP/Bangkok Post

[Jai Dee]

Tempel 1, a pickle-shaped comet, is now about 130 million kilometres from Earth.

I gather that it's a little too far away to see the impact with the naked eye... even at 1:00PM.

I hope someone takes a photo from the telscope.

[george]

Will be checking CNN

[george]

http://spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/status.html

Source: 2bangkok.com

[Jai Dee]

http://spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/status.html

Source: 2bangkok.com

Thanks for the link george.

[Jai Dee]

NASA TV also seem to be televising the event.

[liontamer]

Hope there was not any aliens living on it,

Must be one of the first times the yanks hit something they where aiming for LOL

Edited July 4, 2005 by liontamer

[stumonster]

Astrologer sues over comet crash

From correspondents in Moscow

July 04, 2005

A RUSSIAN astrologer who says NASA has altered her horoscope by crashing a spacecraft into a comet is suing the US space agency for damages of $US300 million ($A401 million), local media reported today.

NASA deliberately crashed its probe, named Deep Impact, into the Tempel 1 comet to unleash a spray of material formed billions of years ago which scientists hope will shed new light on the composition of the solar system.

"It is obvious that elements of the comet's orbit, and correspondingly the ephemeris, will change after the explosion, which interferes with my astrology work and distorts my horoscope," Izvestia newspaper quoted astrologist Marina Bai as saying in legal documents submitted before today's collision.

A spokeswoman for a Moscow district court said initial preparations for the case were under way but could not say when the hearing would begin. NASA representatives in Moscow were unavailable for comment.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

I can see a class action suit brewing....

[Insight]

Your signature says a lot about that article, stumonster

[george]

'Crash in space' has no impact on Thailand

BANGKOK: -- A 'historic crash in space' today, when a US module successfully struck on a comet, will not affect Thailand, according to a senior Thai astronomer.

Thailand, like several other countries around the world, had closely monitored the crash--the first-ever phenomenon in which a man-made shuttle struck on a comet in the solar system, said the senior astronomer, Assoc. Prof. Boonraksa Suntorntham, the Director of the National Astronomical Research Institute.

The 370 kg-module, named the 'Impactor' released by a US spacecraft, the 'Deep Impact', crashed on the Temple-1 Comet at around 13:30 hrs (Thailand's time) at the speed of 23,000 mile per hour, as targeted by Washington's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The comet was crashed when it was 83 million miles, or 132.8 million kilometres from the Earth, causing a gigantic hole on the comet.

"The Temple-1 Comet came closer to the Earth once in every five and a half years and its position is very..very far from the Earth; so, the crash is unlikely to cause any environmental impacts on the Earth", said Assoc. Prof. Boonraksa.

NASA launched the 'Deep Impact' Spaceship with the 'Impactor' module to the space in January, in a US$333 million unprecedented mission aimed at studying how living things and other natural substances, like water and gases, procreate, as comets have co-existed with the solar system for 4,500 million years.

The US's historic mission marked its National Day today.

The 'Deep Impact' Spacecraft is recording pictures from the Temple-1 Comet for further scientific studies.

--TNA 2005-07-04

[AmeriThai]

"The resulting crater was expected to range anywhere from the size of a large house to a football stadium and be between two and 14 stories deep."

At best, that would make a pretty good-sized dent on the comet. After the impact, a plume of debris was seen being ejected out into space. It's that debris that can be analyzed by the mothership to try to determine the composition of the comet.

Regardless of the size of the hole, it won't effect Thailand or anywhere else, just by the enormous distance from the Earth. The hole, though potentially large (relatively speaking), isn't large enough to make a difference either.

It'll be interesting to see if it can be determined what the thing is made of. Is it a dirty snowball of frozen gas and dust? Is the core solid, or is is made of loose debris?

[penzman]

Amazing, hitting something that's 431 million kilometres away...

Now I'm still waiting for a single bullet to do the same on Bin Laden, only from a few hundred meters away

[Jeff Jarvis]

Intercepting a comet in space. Nice.

NASA (and others)have some fantastic projects with the rovers on Mars and other robotic craft heading thru the solar system.

Unfortunatly, it seems the Space Shuttle has turned into another expensive defense project.

I've been a huge NASA fan since the first manned Mercury space shots.

Once visited Houston Control and viewed the Shuttle, Saturn Rocket, Moon Lander, the car they used on the moon and other important Space Ships. Neil Armstrongs Capsule is on display at the Smithsonian.

Meeting Alan Sheperd was a memorable day. My old neighbor, first American in space and golfer on the moon.

Carl Sagen said, humans will someday be capturing meteors and bringing them to earth for mining rare minerals.

Some meators may be brought into earth orbit and made habitable for humans, then sent off thru the galaxie he predicts.

Here is a link I have some interest in. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics...of-robots_x.htm

NASA is using a Segway Platform for their Robonaut. These Robotic Astronauts may be assisting humans while exploring Mars.

Edited July 5, 2005 by Jeff Jarvis

[mnoorsapl]

NASA is using a Segway Platform for their Robonaut. These Robotic Astronauts may be assisting humans while exploring Mars.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Segway seems to be abe to perform a lot of tasks...thanks for the link Jarvis.

[TizMe]

Segway seems to be abe to perform a lot of tasks...

Especially spamming ThaiVisa...

[Jai Dee]

Segway seems to be abe to perform a lot of tasks...

Especially spamming ThaiVisa...

Jeff just can't help himself hey?