Deep Impact: Excavating
Comet Tempel 1
Deep Impact delivered 19
GJoules of kinetic energy to comet Tempel 1, excavating approximately 10^4 tons
of material. The approach data prior to
impact revealed many interesting phenomena regarding the behavior of the
nucleus. The ejecta from the impact were
initially hot (>1000K) but within 1 second after impact were cold,
containing ice crystals. After the
impact, the amount of CO2 and organics increased significantly relative to the
water. The nucleus turns out to be
extremely porous and extremely weak.