NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft blasted off Wednesday on a six-month mission to smash a hole in a comet.
Last January California Yankee signed up to participate in the Deep Impact Mission.
If all goes well, on July 4th part of the Deep Impact Spacecraft will collide with comet Temple 1.
The most powerful telescope ever sent into deep space will observe the event from a safe 300 miles away. Other telescopes like the Hubble will also watch the collision, along with ground observatories. The impactor will have a camera, too, that will snap pictures virtually all the way in. According to the Associated Press:
The comet will be more than 80 million miles from Earth when the collision takes place — on the sunlit side of the comet, NASA hopes, in order to ensure good viewing by spacecraft cameras and observatories. The resulting crater is expected to be two to 14 stories deep, and perhaps 300 feet in diameter.
Thanks to VodkaPundit for the tip.
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