NASA's Deep Impact Probe Slams Into Tempel 1 Comet

Foxnews ^ | Monday, July 04, 2005 | Associated Press

[ASA Vet]

Comets and astroids (sic) have hit the earth before and we are still here aren't we?

Man wasn't around yet at the last major extinction causing impact 65 mya.

[hophead]

People like you said the same thing 40 years ago. I guess some humans just can't learn from history. The science from experiments like this and others that may look to most of us like a waste of time and money have enormous meaning to the scientific community. The science eventually trickles down to the lives of all of us over time. One of the first impacts on our daily lives was the digital watch. Remember the "PULSAR" watch? Then cheap calculators etc.

[hophead]

I don't think the homeless or AIDs patients would have made such a spectacular impact as did the 800 pound copper vessel.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It seems a mite early to worry about precisely what comets are made out of, when we can't even figure out why we can't make gays stop spreading HIV. Maybe when we are in a position that we would want to use comets for resources, it would matter; before then it's curiosity.

[muir_redwoods]

"As far as comets or astroids hitting the earth, I'll put my money on the good Lord, not NASA.'

Tunguska and the various large-scale impact craters on earth suggest that faith, admirable in it's own right, might benefit from a bit of technical assistance

[Teacher317]

all this experiment proves is, that we can hit an object the size of Manhatt[a]n in space.

Taking that statement as fully accurate (I do not), that's still an accomplishment since the comet is moving at such an incredible speed. Further, no technology starts out at its peak. We will soon hit smaller objects travelling at greater speeds. There's a learning curve to all research and technology. You seem to be asserting that it is better to never start on such curves at all.

Do you feel that the lunar landings of the 60's and 70's were similarly wasteful?

[hophead]

"...when we can't even figure out why we can't make gays stop spreading HIV."

Well, if you can't figur out how to make homos stop spreading HIV then its a lost cause to expect you to understand the science behind "Deep Impact".

[Arkie2]

Keep posting. You're giving religion a bad name. You realize your opinion on this probably matches the Islamic Fundamentalists exactly don't you?

[Erik Latranyi]

A totally irrellevent and useless experiment conducted at the public expense.

To a degree, I agree that this is not the best use of public money.

However, the liberals can no longer say that you cannot hit a bullet with a bullet. It has been done.

[Erik Latranyi]

You put your money on NASA, I'll put mine on God.

God gave us the talent to conduct scientific experiments.

Don't waste God's talents.

[Lazamataz]

I am a bad grandma.....

[Savage Beast]

Meanwhile, Muslim fanatics plot murder and suicide, and atheists plot Marxist tyrranies, all oblivious the the truth that such amazing technological achievements as this comet collision are the result of God's revelations.

These are miracles that Muslim fanatics overlook and that atheists deny.

There are no limits to human goodness--or to human depravity and stupidity.

There are also no limits to the possibilities of God's gifts and revelations.

[BallyBill]

Ok, but who and what took them pictures?

"yes, professor, but who threw them pies?"

[RightWhale]

A totally irrellevent and useless experiment conducted at the public expense.

Irrelevant? Not to me. The comet has huge value as a resource. All we need is property rights.

[hophead]

The movies on NASA's website are absolutely incredible. Go frame by frame on these movies and look at the impact. One movie is from the impactor and the other is from the fly-by craft. The impactor picks out a mound of whatever it is between two large craters. It looks eerily like the footage form smart bombs in the Kuwait wars. Only this is millions of miles away. Just freakin incredible.

[hophead]

Sorry, heres the links.
http://www.nasa.gov/mov/121527main_MRI_impact.mov
http://www.nasa.gov/mov/121530main_its_approach_x4.mov

[Southack]

"Comets and astroids have hit the earth before and we are still here aren't we? You put your money on NASA, I'll put mine on God."

Oh please. Your *first* argument was that the experiment was a waste of *money*, hardly something that concerns God. Your *new* argument fails for entirely different, but no more basic, fundamental (pun intended) reasons such as the fact that God gives us *talents* that if we don't use, we suffer for said disuse.

And your knowledge of comet and asteroid strikes is likewise deeply flawed; the last *major* strike was before Man occupied this planet, for instance.

Similarly, you failed to understand how hitting a hyper-speed object millions of miles away would put the U.S. on a technical path that could intercept various future forms of high-speed objects (Man-made or otherwise).

In short, you've not managed to understand any aspect of which you've been ranting about, a sure sign of an uneducated ideologue at an isolated computer terminal with nothing else to do save to spout utter nonsense.

And it's not just that *this* discussion is clearly over your head, it's that you've made it readily apparent that most *any* technical or religious discussion is beyond your intellectual grasp (though no doubt that won't stop you from ranting on, anyway).

[saxxa]

On Time , On Target.......DAMN GOOD SHOOTING !!!!!!!

[Southack]

"I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but if a celestial object is coming to wipe us out, that means God is punching our ticket."

God tests us all every day. Some tests we pass, others we fail.

If God wants to punch our ticket, with no test whatsoever, then you won't even see it coming.

Otherwise, if you can see it, then it is a test. Some will choose paths that fail; others will choose more wisely.

[HighWheeler]

"I would like you to elaborate and explain why it's important for you, to know what comets and the early solar system are made from, and how this relates to you in your everyday life. I'm sorry, but all this experiment proves is, that we can hit an object the size of Manhatten in space. It does not prove once and for all that the U.S. can protect the planet from spaceborne threats."

Nice Luddite talk there, A6M3.

I will now refocus your comment to the way you would have asked the Wright Brothers in December, 1903:

"I would like you to elaborate and explain why it's important for you, to know how airplanes fly and what the early airplanes are made from, and how this relates to you in your everyday life. I'm sorry, but all this experiment proves is, that we can fly an object the size of a shed roof on a flat, windy beach. It does not prove once and for all that the U.S. can protect the country from any threats."