Movies of Comet Tempel 1 Encounter by Stardust-NExT

Want to know what it feels like at close range to ride on a spaceship past a zooming comet that’s spewing dust and debris that could destroy you at any moment ?

Check out the movies (above & below) which gives you a front row seat at NASA’s newest ‘Comet Experience’. Hitch a ride on the rear of Stardust-NExT as it flew past Compet Tempel 1 at 9.8 km/sec, or 24,000 MPH.

The movie comprises the highest resolution images of the fleeting 8 minutes of the closest approach period that occurred between 8:35:26 p.m. to 8:43:08 p.m. PST on Feb. 14, 2011 (4:35:26 a.m. to 4:43:08 a.m. UTC, Feb. 15, 2011, according to the clock kept aboard the spacecraft).

Stardust started taking these the excellent quality photos at a distance of 2,462 kilometers (1,530 miles) away from the center of the comet and get to within 185 kilometers (115 miles). By the end of the movie, the spacecraft is 2,594 kilometers (1,611 miles) away from the center of the comet.

Think about it and the navigational precision required to pull off this feat. After a journey of near 6 billion kilometers (3.5 Billion miles) and 12 years, the highest quality science and images are captured in what amounts to an instant in time.

“And they did it with Math !”, exclaimed NASA Asspciate Admisistrator Ed Weiler at the post encounter briefing. Weiler exhorted school kids worldwide to study math and science if that want to accomplish great deeds.

Comet Tempel 1 was approximately 335 million kilometers (208 million miles) away from Earth and on the other side of the sun during the encounter. Tempel 1 is oblong in shape and has an average diameter of about 6 kilometers (4 miles).

The individual images are all online. Check out these alternate movie versions prepared by Dimitri Demeeter at Youtube and nasatech.net at the links below.

Here’s 1/10 sec with text

Here’s 1/4 sec with text

Here’s 1/2 sec with text

Here’s 1/10 sec w/o text

Here’s 1/2 sec w/o text

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Highlights from the Comet Tempel 1 Post Flyby briefing

more Stardust goodies coming up

Read more about the Stardust-NExT Flyby and mission in my earlier stories here, here, here, here and here