Day of the comet

Published: Jul 03, 2005
Source: www.cnn.com



ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Six months after it blasted off from Earth, the Deep Impact spacecraft is poised to meet its cosmic fate -- in a hyper-speed smashup with a comet.

In the early morning hours of July 4, NASA scientists will steer a probe about the size of a washing machine directly in the path of a comet about half the size of Manhattan, and watch the two collide.

What comes out of the collision scientists hope will unlock the inner workings of comets.continue..