universetoday.com
New Detail on Cometary Jets Seen By Stardust
When NASA's Stardust spacecraft flew through the tail of Comet Wild-2, it took some of the most detailed images ever seen of a comet. Analysts have taken a short exposure of the comet's surface and overlaid it onto a longer exposure that showed the comet's jets. This combined image allows scientists to understand which surface features are creating the jets, to better understand why Wild-2 is so incredibly pockmarked with craters, rifts and holes. Stardust will return to Earth in 2006 with its precious cargo of cometary particles.
Fraser Cain