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A Smashing Success!

A Smashing Success!
A Smashing Success! On July 3, 2005, 67 seconds after its impactor smashed into the nucleus of comet Temple 1, Deep Impact’s flyby spacecraft took this picture. Scattered light from the collision saturated the high-resolution camera’s light detector on the flyby craft, creating the bright splash and rays seen here. It’s reflected sunlight, however, that illuminates the comet’s nucleus. NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Maryland