back to article Deep space COMET FLYBY: First PICS

NASA's former Deep Impact comet-bomber space probe, since renamed EPOXI* and reassigned to rendezvous with a second space snowball, has made a successful close pass by the comet Hartley 2. Comet Hartley 2 pictured by the EPOXI mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD Extraplanetary spaceball paparazzo-shot wondrousness. "The …

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  1. beerandbiscuits
    Paris Hilton

    19000 miles

    LOHAN's going to have to watch out for stuff like this.

  2. Tom_

    "3,470mph of velocity"

    I get the point, but in a science article it'd be better to use terms like 'velocity' properly. I think you should have said it picked up an extra 3,470mph of speed. Velocity is a combination of speed and direction.

    Thanks for the article, though. It was interesting.

    1. mhenriday
      Boffin

      Right you are Tom -

      another question is why the Reg insists on using (the US version of) Imperial units in a science article, rather than using SI units. A latent John Wayne complex ?...

      Henri

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        British

        Why us Imperial units? Because that's how us brits measure speed.

        1. mhenriday
          Thumb Up

          Welcome to the modern world,

          Anonymous Coward !...

          Henri

      2. frank ly

        @mhenriday

        Are you that guy who drives really slowly around town, at a constant 30km/h ? If you are, I have some news for you.

        1. mhenriday
          Pint

          Frank, I'm usually on my bike ;

          but on a good day without too much headwind, I can maintain 30 km/h....

          Henri

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Awesome picture

    I hope Hollywood are paying attention this time around so that we're spared any further Deep Impact-style travesties

  4. MeRp
    Alien

    Is that

    Is that the Space Battleship Yamato?!?

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      WTF?

      @MeRp

      Nope. Even turning it upside down and squinting really hard I can't see that one.

      I'd lay off the little blue ones for a while if I were you........

  5. VeganVegan
    Joke

    Stardate 210101104:055947

    Captain's log evacuated. A spiky one.

  6. Jason Togneri
    WTF?

    Let me get this straight...

    It's been renamed to "EPOXI", which stands for:

    Extrasolar

    Planet

    Observation and Characterization plus Deep Impact

    eXtended

    Investigation

    I daresay the art of forming logical and intuitive acronyms is officially dead.

    1. John Angelico
      Joke

      Maybe not...

      It could be characterised as a:

      Remote

      Extended

      Space

      Investigation

      Node

      could it not?

  7. M Gale

    EPOXI

    Sponsored by Araldite?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    KFC conspiracy theory #1

    It's obviously a chicken drumstick :-o

  9. tempemeaty
    Joke

    That's a big one...

    Over sized bar magnet. (-_^)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Higest mountains in the solar system...

    Well if the highest mountain is measured as a proportion of radius from the mean geode then this things a record breaker!

  11. PATSYQB

    Budget cuts

    Can't they afford a colour camera FFS?

  12. Robert E A Harvey
    Coat

    Hartley 2

    Hartley 2?

    Sonorous voice: "Just when you thought no-one cared about Fly Fishing..."

    mine's the one with the slim volume in the pocket

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Impressive but somehow not...

    Whenever I see this sort of thing it impresses the hell out of me that here is a photograph taken thousands of miles away in space. On the other hand the actual images are always something of a letdown. Space is really excting in theory, but the reality is somewhat dull.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Any space boffins care to comment?

      But for the mere matter* of getting to within 700 km of the comet I could take this picture with with my very amateur telescope and B&W camera setup.

      Surely there is a huge choice of high definition space rated optics and sensors to choose from after all this time spent developing satellite based earth imaging.

      Pig ignorant armchair space experts would like to know.

      * it impresses the hell out of me too.

  14. ShaggyDoggy

    I, for one

    welcome our new cometary chicken-drumstick overlords

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