PIA05004: Comet Wild 2 - Stardust Approach Image


Comet Wild 2 - Stardust Approach Image

Caption:

This image was taken during the close approach phase of Stardust's Jan 2, 2004 flyby of comet Wild 2. It is a distant side view of the roughly spherical comet nucleus. One hemisphere is in sunlight and the other is in shadow analogous to a view of the quarter moon. Several large depressed regions can be seen. Comet Wild 2 is about five kilometers (3.1 miles) in diameter.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target 81P/Wild
System Periodic Comets
Target Type Comet
Mission Stardust
Instrument Host Stardust
Host Type Sample Return
Instrument Navigation Camera (NC)
Detector
Extra Keywords Dust, Grayscale, Shadow
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-01-06
Date in Caption 2004-01-02
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05004
Identifier PIA05004