PIA02141: First Contact
The image depicts the first moments after NASA's Deep Impact's probe interfaced with comet Tempel 1. The illuminated, and possibly incandescent, debris is expanding from the impact site.
Target Name: Tempel 1
Mission: Deep Impact
Spacecraft: Deep Impact
Instrument: High Resolution Imager (HRI)
Product Size: 512 samples x 512 lines
Produced By: University of Maryland
Full-Res TIFF: PIA02141.tif (262.6 kB)
Full-Res JPEG: PIA02141.jpg (8.103 kB)

Click on the image to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original).

Original Caption Released with Image:

The image depicts the first moments after Deep Impact's probe interfaced with comet Tempel 1. The illuminated -- and possibly incandescent -- debris is expanding from the impact site. The rough-hewn edges at the top and bottom of the flash are a result of light given off at impact saturating some of the pixels in the camera's imager. The pixels "bleed" excess electronic charge onto adjacent pixels in the same column.

This image was taken by Deep Impact's high-resolution camera.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD

Image Addition Date:
2005-07-20