[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) Fwd: Comet Borrelly Rocks and Rolls In Simple Movie



MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasadot gov

Contact:  Martha J. Heil 818/354-0850
   
IMAGE ADVISORY                            November 29, 2001

COMET ROCKS AND ROLLS IN SIMPLE MOVIE

     NASA scientists have strung together images of comet 
Borrelly to produce short movies of the comet as it travels 
through space.  

     In one clip, the bare, rocky, icy nucleus wobbles back 
and forth to reveal its textured surface, with some smooth and 
some bumpy landscapes. The observations were taken when NASA's 
Deep Space 1 spacecraft was between 3,700 and 9,500 kilometers 
(between 2,300 and 5,900 miles) from the comet in September 
2001. 

     In the second clip, jets of gas and dust shoot from all 
sides of the comet's nucleus as it rotates a quarter turn. The 
biggest jet, shooting from the central sunlit part of the 
comet, is probably in line with the axis around which the 
nucleus rotates.  This large jet is eroding the central part 
of the comet, smoothing parts of the terrain into rolling 
hills. The erosion will eventually break the comet into 
pieces.  Coarsely textured parts of the comet at both ends are 
geologically inactive areas. These images were taken from 
between 22,500 and 4,980 kilometers (about 14,000 to 3,000 
miles) away. 

     The images are available online from NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., at 

http://www.jpl.nasadot gov/videos/solar_system/comets.html . 

     NASA TV will broadcast a video file of the comet movies 
at 12, 3, 6 and 9 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 29. NASA TV is 
located on satellite GE2, Transponder 9C, audio 3880 MHz; 
orbital position 85 degrees west longitude, with audio at 6.8 
MHz.

     Scientists are studying these images and other Deep Space 
1 data for a better understanding of comets and their role in 
the solar system. Deep Space 1's pass through comet Borrelly's 
surrounding cloud of gas and dust yielded the best pictures 
ever of a comet's rocky, icy nucleus. The images appear to 
show the comet rotating but it is actually the spacecraft that 
changed position as it passed close to the comet's nucleus. 

     Deep Space 1 completed its primary mission testing ion 
propulsion and 11 other advanced, high-risk technologies in 
September 1999. NASA extended the mission, taking advantage of 
the ion propulsion and other systems to undertake this chancy 
but exciting, and ultimately successful encounter. More 
information is available on the home page at 
http://nmp.jpl.nasadot gov/ds1/ . 


     Deep Space 1 was launched in October 1998 as part of 
NASA's New Millennium Program, which is managed by JPL for 
NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.  The 
California Institute of Technology manages JPL for NASA. 

     Image credit: NASA/JPL


The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
If you are interested in complete links on the 2001 LEONIDS, see:
http://www.meteorobs.org/storms.html
To stop getting email from the 'meteorobs' list, use the Web form at:
http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html