Comet
Struck deliberately by a NASA impactor in 2005 so astronomers could study the material blasted out from beneath its crust.
| Type | Comet |
|---|---|
| Distance from the Sun | 3.15 AU |
| Diameter | 6 km |
| Mass | 7.20 × 10^13 kg |
| Temperature | -116°C |
| Orbital period | 2,038 days |
| Apparent magnitude | 11 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Discovered | 1867 |
At 6 km across, Comet Tempel 1 is less than a thousandth of the diameter of Earth.
Its mass is less than a thousandth of the mass of Earth.
It keeps an average distance of 3.145 AU from the Sun, so sunlight takes 26 minutes to reach it.
A single orbit takes 5.6 years.
An average temperature of 157 K works out at -116 degrees Celsius, colder than the 15 degrees Earth averages.
It has been on record since 1867.
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