Another gorgeous Deep Impact image

The team has just released a really pretty high-resolution view of Tempel 1 just 67 seconds after the impact (click to enlarge to its full resolution):

You can see rays of ejecta spreading out from the impact. If you look at the image closely you can see that the comet nucleus has a really funny shape. Where that hole is, in the center right, the whole surface of the comet is concave, like someone has pressed it in with a giant thumb. It reminds me of an artist's kneaded eraser, gray and smudged and worked into a blunt shape.

Cool.

In other news, Cassini has just passed through apoapsis (farthest distance from Saturn), so it has ticked over into Revolution 11. During this rev, next week, on July 14, there is going to be a really, really close flyby of Enceladus, only 172 kilometers. I will be going on a much-needed vacation next week but will return just in time to see the closest-ever pictures of any icy moon come down from Cassini!