- Original Caption Released with Image:
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On January 2, 2004 NASA's Stardust spacecraft made a close flyby of comet
Wild 2 (pronounced "Vilt-2"). Among the equipment the spacecraft carried
on board was a navigation camera. This is the 34th of the 72 images taken
by Stardust's navigation camera during close encounter. The exposure time
was 10 milliseconds. The two frames are actually of 1 single exposure.
The frame on the left depicts the comet as the human eye would see it.
The frame on the right depicts the same image but "stretched" so that
the faint jets emanating from Wild 2 can be plainly seen. Comet Wild 2
is about five kilometers (3.1 miles) in diameter.
- Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech
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