Comet 9P/Tempel 1
Deep Impact Ejecta Plume Animation
2005 July 4.2, 5.2, 6.2, 7.2, 8.2, 9.2, 10.2 UT
Daily sequence begins a few minutes following the impact.
Each image has been ratioed to a frame obtained just prior to impact,
to enhance the ejecta plume released by the projectile.
It appears that the main ejecta plume moves outward towards the right
day by day, slowly dispersing with time, and that the plume forms
its own dust "tail" in the lower-right quadrant which is rapidly swept
back towards the lower-left due to radiation pressure from the Sun.
Images obtained by Kate Barnes and Nicole Baugh
using the Hall 42-inch (1.1-m) telescope at Lowell Observatory
with a broadband R filter, dominated by dust grains.
North is at the top, East is to the left.
The Sun has a position angle of 290 degrees.
Trimmed image size: 355"x355" or ~230,000x230,000 km.
Image processing and animation sequence by Barnes, Baugh, and David Schleicher.
Copyright 2005 Lowell Observatory
