Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Originally published in Science Express on 15 September 2005
Science 14 October 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5746, pp. 274 - 278
DOI: 10.1126/science.1119091
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Subaru Telescope Observations of Deep Impact

S. Sugita,1,4,5* T. Ootsubo,6 T. Kadono,1,7 M. Honda,4 S. Sako,2 T. Miyata,2 I. Sakon,3 T. Yamashita,8 H. Kawakita,9 H. Fujiwara,3 T. Fujiyoshi,8 N. Takato,8 T. Fuse,8 J. Watanabe,10 R. Furusho,11 S. Hasegawa,4 T. Kasuga,10 T. Sekiguchi,10 D. Kinoshita,12 K. J. Meech,13 D. H. Wooden,14 W. H. Ip,12 M. F. A'Hearn15

The impact cratering process on a comet is controversial but holds the key for interpreting observations of the Deep Impact collision with comet 9P/Tempel 1. Mid-infrared data from the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS) of the Subaru Telescope indicate that the large-scale dust plume ejected by the impact contained a large mass (~106 kilograms) of dust and formed two wings approximately ±45° from the symmetric center, both consistent with gravity as the primary control on the impact and its immediate aftermath. The dust distribution in the inner part of the plume, however, is inconsistent with a pure gravity control and implies that evaporation and expansion of volatiles accelerated dust.

1 Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
2 Institute of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Miaka, Tokyo, Japan.
3 Department of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan.
4 Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.
5 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
6 Division of Particle and Astrophysical Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
7 Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
8 Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Hilo, HI, USA.
9 Department of Physics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo, Kyodo, Japan.
10 National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.
11 Waseda University, Nishiwaseda, Tokyo, Japan.
12 Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan.
13 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA.
14 Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
15 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sugita{at}k.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Exposed Water Ice Deposits on the Surface of Comet 9P/Tempel 1.
J. M. Sunshine, M. F. A'Hearn, O. Groussin, J.-Y. Li, M. J. S. Belton, W. A. Delamere, J. Kissel, K. P. Klaasen, L. A. McFadden, K. J. Meech, et al. (2006)
Science 311, 1453-1455
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Deep Impact: Observations from a Worldwide Earth-Based Campaign.
K. J. Meech, N. Ageorges, M. F. A'Hearn, C. Arpigny, A. Ates, J. Aycock, S. Bagnulo, J. Bailey, R. Barber, L. Barrera, et al. (2005)
Science 310, 265-269
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Dust Grains from 9P/Tempel 1 Before and After the Encounter with Deep Impact.
D. E. Harker, C. E. Woodward, and D. H. Wooden (2005)
Science 310, 278-280
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)