Water Abundance Dependent on Temperature

• Click the image above for a larger view
• Full-Res JPEG (1000 x 750) (61.5 kB)
• Full-Res TIFF (1000 x 750) (2.3 MB)

Caption:

This chart highlights observations from NASA's Deep Impact mission of the northern polar regions of the moon acquired on June 9, 2009. The image at left is a map of the moon taken by the U.S. Clementine satellite -- the rest of the images are different representations of Deep Impact data, including measurements of brightness, temperature, and strength of a signature for water and hydroxyl molecules. The water signature varies significantly across the lunar surface; the strength of the signature is not correlated with terrain type but is highly dependent on temperature.

Since successfully carrying out its spectacular impact experiment at comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, the Deep Impact spacecraft has been on an extended mission, called Epoxi, which culminates in a flyby of comet Hartley 2 on November 4, 2010. The spacecraft observed the moon for calibration purposes on several occasions en route to the second comet.

Cataloging Keywords: