Deep Impactor crater update?

[slidelock]

New member here, any one have an idea when Nasa will release pictures of the crater?

 

[CalliArcale]

Deep Impact can still image Tempel 1, but certainly not at any great resolution. Better than most earthbound telescopes, but that's about it. Hubble might still be photographing the comet, but it can't make out individual craters at this distance.<br /><br />I suspect the Deep Impact team is trying to see what kind of an image they can tease out of the data by extrapolation; the plume was so big and lasted so long that they really didn't get an unobstructed view of the crater. Indeed, the crater may still have been forming when it rotated out of view of the flyby spacecraft. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[mrmorris]

According to an article on SpaceDaily -- they're trying to use SWIFT to measure the size of the impact crater. Certainly wouldn't have been an instrument that I'd have thought of. From the article, it appears they're doing it indirectly, though, namely by measuring the amount of material ejected.

 

[astrophoto]

How much fuel would it take to catch back up with the comet? I know the relative speed difference was pretty bad, but I know they have quite a reserve left. Could they make a go for a second flyby as the comet comes back around?

 

[mrmorris]

<font color="yellow">"Could they make a go for a second flyby as the comet comes back around? "</font><br /><br />Not a chance.