USA: ROCKET LAUNCHED TO GET CLOSER LOOK AT COMET HALE BOPP скачать в хорошем качестве

USA: ROCKET LAUNCHED TO GET CLOSER LOOK AT COMET HALE BOPP

(26 Mar 1997) English/Nat The first of four rockets is off and running after the Hale-Bopp comet. Scientists are sending up the rockets in hopes of getting a closer look at Hale-Bopp as it swoops past Earth. A rocket blasted into the nighttime sky over New Mexico Monday night -- the first in a series of rockets that researchers hope can unlock some of the Hale-Bopp comet's secrets. The rocket is to collect data on the comet's composition, including gas emissions and dust particles. The man who helped discover the Hale-Bopp was on hand to watch the launch. Scientist Alan Hale says studying the comet can give us clues about what conditions were like at the formation of the universe. SOUNDBITE (English): "Comets being the leftovers or what we believe to be the leftovers from a formation of the solar system four-and-a-half (b) billion years ago, they're relatively unprocessed, so, which means when we study comets we're really studying time machines as it were. We're really going back in time, seeing what the composition of the original gas cloud out of which the solar system condensed. It's giving clues as to its composition, its temperature, what the conditions were like at that time. It's definitely a look back into our own origins as it were." SUPER CAPTION: Alan Hale, Co-discoverer of the Hale-Bopp Comet The rocket launched Monday carried a telescope that will try to detect whether the comet contains the gases neon and argon. The gases form only under certain conditions - if they are found it could help determine when and where the comet originated. SOUNDBITE (English): "Our primary objective was to study the composition of the comet and in particular to see if there were noble gases present in the comet - particularly argon and neon - in the hopes of understanding the thermal environment in which the comet was formed. These gases will give us a history of how cold or how hot it was when the comet was formed billions of years ago at the beginning of the solar system." SUPER CAPTION: Dr. James Green, astronomer, University of Colorado None of the four rockets in the series will reach orbit. The highest will go about 240 miles (384 kilometres) up and provide only five minutes of data before parachuting back. Nonetheless telescopic equipment offers a clearer picture than anything possible from Earth. Hale-Bopp is one of the largest comets ever, with a tail estimated at 10 (m) million to 20 (m) million miles (16 to 32 (m) million kilometres) in length. The comet is expected to put on its brightest display during the last week of March and the first week of April. It can be seen with the naked eye, and the best time to catch a glimpse is early evening. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...