C/1999 T1
9P/ Tempel 1
C/1999 T1
Deep impact on 9P/Tempel 1
X-rays in 9P/ Tempel 1
CometsComets resemble "dirty snow balls", typically a few kilometers in diameter with a surrounding cloud of dust and gas. The X-ray emission from comets is produced by high-energy particles from the Sun: The solar wind is composed of ions moving at speeds in excess of a million kilometers per hour. When these ions, which have a large positive charge, collide with a comet, they can pull electrons away from the neutral atoms (predominantly hydrogen) of the comet in what is called a charge-exchange collision. The electrons are usually captured into high-energy states of the solar wind ions, and emit X-rays as they shift into lower energy states. These X-rays have an energy that is equal to the difference in energy states, and if detected with an X-ray spectrometer, provide a telling signal that the charge-exchange collision is occurring. By observing comets, scientists will learn more about the chemistry of the solar wind and the cloud of dust and gas surrounding comets. [Ref 1] |
| C/1999 T1 | 9P/ Tempel 1 | C/1999 T1 | Deep impact on 9P/Tempel 1 | X-rays in 9P/ Tempel 1 |