NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the dramatic effects of
the collision early July 4 between comet 9P/Tempel 1 and an
820-pound projectile released by the Deep Impact spacecraft. A
sequence of images is available online at Time-lapse video
images are available at The visible-light images show the comet
before and after the impact. They were taken by Hubble's
Advanced Camera for Surveys' High Resolution Camera. The first
of the three still images at http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/ne
wsdesk/archive/releases/2005/17/ shows the comet about one
minute before the impact. The encounter occurred at 1:52 a.m.
EDT. In the second image, captured 15 minutes after the
collision, Tempel 1 appears four times brighter than in the pre-
impact photo. Astronomers noticed that the inner cloud of dust
and gas surrounding the comet's nucleus increased by about 120
miles (200 kilometers) in size. The impact caused a brilliant
flash of light and a constant increase in the brightness of the
inner cloud of dust and gas. The Hubbl