NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft is hurtling toward Comet Hartley 2 for a breathtaking 435-mile flyby on Nov. 4th. Mission scientists say all systems are go for a close encounter with one of the smallest yet most active comets they've seen.
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EPOXI will swoop down into the comet's bright coma – the sparkling aura of debris, illuminated by the sun – shrouding the nucleus. The spacecraft's cameras, taking high-resolution (7 meters per pixel at closest approach) pictures all the while, will reveal this new world in all its fizzy glory.
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The aim of the mission is to gather details about what the nucleus is made of and compare it to other comets. Because comets spend much of their time far from the sun, the cold preserves their composition – and that composition tells a great story.
