Emily Lakdawalla • Jan 26, 2011
Stardust update: Tempel 1 Ahoy!
It is with great relief that I now report that JPL announced this evening the sighting of Tempel 1 by Stardust, a mere month before the planned flyby. It's not that I didn't think Stardust would be able to find the comet; but the longer it took for the faint fuzz to show up in the images, the harder it would be for the spacecraft (which is very low on fuel) to set itself up for the flyby. Hooray and congratulations to the Stardust team! Tempel 1 ahoy!
![Stardust's first sight of Tempel 1](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x595_crop_center-center_82_line/20130529_stardustnext012611-full.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x381_crop_center-center_60_line/20130529_stardustnext012611-full.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x285_crop_center-center_60_line/20130529_stardustnext012611-full.jpg 576w)
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