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July 04, 2005
Happy Fourth
This morning I woke up in a strange mood and read the news. The biggest story I found as I browsed through the headlines was about fireworks. Considering today is the fourth of July, that was no suprise, but when I realized what exactly they were talking about, I actually was a bit surprised. Just a bit. The articles were not discussing the typical American fireworks we use to celebrate our independence, but a much bigger and still American fireworks show on comet Tempel 1, some 83 million miles away, a bit closer than the sun. I think The Christian Science Monitor explained the whole situation perfectly: "NASA bombs a comet - for science." Apparently there was no threat to our planet which you may have thought at first, as I did (too many comet-impact-brings-doom movies!)-- NASA's mission was solely for the purpose of finding out the origins of our solar system. *whew* They had me worried about that one, especially after naming the mission Deep Impact, the very same title of one of those late-nineties comet movies I mentioned.
So, what exactly could NASA learn by chasing down a speeding comet millions of miles away and smashing a washing-machine sized probe into the side of the ball of ice and debris shaped like an avocado on the fourth of July? Well, it certainly earned them bragging rights to say they were the first scientists in the world to smash a piece of equipment into a comet. Not to be outdone, various other national space agencies are already directing their very own comet contact research projects, but none are as spectacular or explodable as NASA's just-blow-a-hole-in-it-and-take-pictures strategy. Ten thousand people camped out on Hawaii's Waikiki beach to watch the event on a giant movie screen, and along with scientists and college students around the world, witnessed what has been described as the equivalent to standing in the middle of the road and being hit by a semi-truck careening at 23,000 mph or just a Boeing 767 running into a mosquito. Impressed yet? Or maybe confused....
Scientists have begun studies on the information being sent back home and hope to learn more about these mysterious celestial time-capsules that were once considered terrible omens but, in fact, most likely brought life to our planet by depositing water and organic compounds upon impact. I guess today was our day to return the favor to comets in general by smashing up Tempel 1, this time with inorganic compounds. Studies hope to reveal the materials and conditions present 4.5 billion years ago when our solar system was just forming...maybe so we can build one ourselves someday?
Anyway, in the end, the comet survived, the probe didn't, the mothership that launched it survived but is probably doomed to drift through space for all time, scientists are happy with new data to study, and America should be proud we really blew something up on her birthday. Happy fourth of July, everybody, and watch those short fuses.
Posted by Tom Bodhi at July 4, 2005 01:30 PM
Comments
Bodhi
I like the irony of this news story. What a way to celebrate our noisiest holiday! It's really funny that they named the mission Deep Impact. I can only imagine rocket scientists watching movies about Bruce Willis trying to decide which colored wire to cut as the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Or was that some other flick? Anyway, we're all in pop culture together.
Dr.Em
Posted by: Dr.Em at July 16, 2005 06:57 PM
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