Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 16, 2005 is “Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet,” an image. It is credited to Drawing Credit: Pat Rawlings , U. Md. , JPL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 146 words.

Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet
Credit: Drawing Credit: Pat Rawlings , U. Md. , JPL , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What happens when you crash into a comet? That was a question considered by astronomers when they designed the Deep Impact mission , launched in January.”

— APOD editors, May 16, 2005

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 16, 2005
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Drawing Credit: Pat Rawlings , U. Md. , JPL , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 146 words

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Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 16 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.