The Small Telescope Science Program for the NASA Deep Impact Mission (Abstract)

Volume 34 number 1 (2006)

Gary Emerson

Stephanie McLaughlin

Lucy McFadden

Abstract

(Abstract only) The Small Telescope Science Program (STSP) is a collaborative effort among technically-proficient amateur astronomers, professional and student astronomers with discretionary telescope time, and private observatories to gather valuable ground-based optical data on Comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of Deep Impact, a NASA Discovery Mission. The main objective of this program is to provide CCD observations of Tempel 1 to supplement the professional data acquired by project collaborators at large telescopes. The science team monitors the resulting images and photometric measurements to understand how the activity of the comet changes during its orbit. When will water production turn on? How does the dust production rate change? When does jet activity begin and how long does it last? Does the comet undergo outbursts? The STSP observing campaign for 2004–2005 began in October