Comet 9P Temple 1

Periodic comet 9P/ Temple 1 is a member of Jupiter's "family" of comets. It has an orbital period of about 5.5 years and a perihelion distance of 1.5AU, or about the orbitital distance of Mars. Aphelion distance is about 4.7AU, or just inside the orbit of Jupiter.

Comet Temple 1 became famous in 2005 when the Deep Impact mission impacted the nucleus. Starting in 2000, the Deep Impact team started a world-wide observing campaign to obtain as many observations of the comet as possible, to assist in preparation for the mission. This campaign was called the "Deep Impact Small Telescope Science Program".

1994 Return

2000 Return

2005 Return