Post B4EGWaN9a8Bl9qkbEO by brunthal@mastodon.social
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 (DIR) Post #B4EGWZsfPTnndIUFiC by markmccaughrean@mastodon.social
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       Coming up soon: the 40th anniversary of the ESA Giotto probe’s flyby of Comet 1P/Halley, with closest approach at 00:03:02 UTC on 14 March 1986.Giotto flew within 596 km of the comet at a relative velocity of ~250,000 km/h, so it was all over quickly, but remarkable views of the 14.5 km long dark icy monster were had.Albeit not this composite made later by Nick Thomas on the Giotto team. What happened as images streamed back to live TV is another story 😬✌️ Who remembers that night?
       
 (DIR) Post #B4EGWaN9a8Bl9qkbEO by brunthal@mastodon.social
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       @markmccaughreanI do. The comet started my interest in astronomy. My dad took me to a public observatory, where I looked through a telescope for the first time. From that moment, I was hooked. I was glued to the TV when they showed the first images from Giotto. If I remember correctly, many were disappointed by the images, but I was fascinated.