ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions. ***************************************************************************** NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is closing in on Comet Tempel 1, counting down to a July 3/4 collision that will excavate a sizable crater in the comet's nucleus. The Impactor spacecraft will be returning pictures up until the moment of impact, while the Flyby spacecraft stands off at a safe distance to watch the show. How cool is that?? The crater and the material ejected from the impact will give scientists their first look inside a comet to learn more about what comets are made of, where they came from, and how they formed. Telescopes around--and above--the world will be trained on the comet. The Deep Impact education team will send the latest information and multimedia materials to those who can/will use it. If you are planning a public or educational event for the Deep Impact cratering event with Comet Tempel 1, please send a note with your contact info and event info to [log in to unmask] The mission website is at http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov; be sure to check out the Education and Discovery Zone pages for comet activities. Also check out the amateur astronomers site at http://deepimpact.umd.edu/amateur/ for information on how to observe the comet before and after the impact--astronomers predict the comet will brighten by several magnitude as a result of the impact. Below is an abbreviated timeline of the impact and events leading up to it, as we know it at this time. I'm time-challenged, so everything is listed in my time zone, Pacific Daylight Time: June 9 Press briefing on NASA TV, followed by live shots. By June 15, Deep Impact may be able to release an image per day. By June 28, the comet's nucleus may be visible in the images. July 1, Press briefing on NASA TV at 10 a.m. PDT July 2, Impactor is released 24 hours before impact. An image will be taken by the Impactor spacecraft every 2 hours until 12 hours before Impact. Seven hours before impact, an image will be taken every hour. Three hours before impact, an image will be taken every 30 minutes. Images will start coming faster and faster until impact. Not clear yet if the early images will be on NASA TV, but we hope so. July 3 Press briefing on NASA TV at 10 a.m. PDT July 3, 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. PDT, NASA TV commentary July 3, 10:52 p.m. PDT (5:52 UT), moment of impact July 4, there may be a 1 a.m. PDT "reaction" TV piece (interviews with management, science team members) July 4, 1 a.m. PDT, live shots on NASA TV July 4, Press briefing on NASA TV at 10 a.m. PDT A movie from actual images is also planned to be available by mid-morning July 4. Imagery from telescopes around and above the world (Hubble-visible, Chandra x-ray, Spitzer infrared) will be released as soon as they are available. --Anita -- Anita M. Sohus Lead, Informal Education NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Drive, M.S. 311-100 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-354-6613 [log in to unmask] *********************************************************************** More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org. To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to [log in to unmask]