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PIA02141: First Contact
 Target Name:  Tempel 1
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Deep Impact
 Spacecraft:  Deep Impact
 Instrument:  High Resolution Instrument (HRI)
 Product Size:  512 x 512 pixels (w x h)
 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 above 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