images

Comet Hartley 2 nucleus seen by Deep impact spacecraft

by

Nasa/JPL/UMD/Novapix

Reference

a-com09-00004

Date

2010-11-10

This image montage shows comet Hartley 2 as NASA's EPOXI mission approached and flew under the comet. The images progress in time clockwise, starting at the top left. The image was taken by EPOXI's Medium-Resolution Instrument on Nov. 4, 2010. The sun is to the right.
The comet's nucleus, or main body, is approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long and 0.4 kilometers (0.25 miles) at the "neck," or most narrow portion. Jets can be seen streaming out of the nucleus.