IRTF NEAR-IR SPECTROSCOPY OF COMET 9P-TEMPEL 1: Deep Impact Support Observations

From June 24 through July 08, 2005 UT, near-IR spectra of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 were obtained with the SpeX instrument at the NASA IRTF. These observations were part of a campaign to support the science objectives of the Deep Impact spacecraft around its encounter with the comet on July 4, 2005. The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyze the chemical composition of a comet based on near-infrared spectral features
• Study temporal changes in comet activity around a spacecraft impact event
• Calibrate or validate other observational datasets from the Deep Impact campaign
• Model the physical properties of cometary nuclei and comae using spectroscopic data

Strengths

• Observations are temporally focused around a significant event: the Deep Impact encounter on July 4, 2005.
• Data was collected using the SpeX instrument at the NASA IRTF, a professional astronomical facility.
• The dataset is part of a coordinated support campaign for a major space mission.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary file formats are JPEG and HTML, which may not be standard for quantitative spectral analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Near-IR spectra obtained with the SpeX instrument at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF).

Time Range

June 24 through July 08, 2005 UT

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 20:22:44.714337; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 from Earth-based telescope.