Last September, exceeding its design limitations, Deep Space 1 has successfully photographed the best picture yet obtained of the nucleus of a comet.

See it here: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/images/...ose_browse.jpg

Read about it here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/200..._2001_190.html

What is also peculiar about comet Borelly is that its tail seems to be forming not directly from the nucleus, but rather from a jet shot off one side.

[echochamber]

Spuds... In... Space!!!

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Nice link. But why should it be a surprise that the tail is formed from a jet? Actually, I'd be more surprised if it were otherwise.

The surprise is that the tail is forming from a jet shooting way off to the side. So the tail doesn't start at the nucleus, and then flow back away from the sun with the solar wind. Instead, it seems to start next to the nucleus, and then flow back from there. This has not been observed before. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Why do most space objects (asteroids, comets, etc.) look like potatoes?

Maybe it's just bad cameras, or some semi-competent employee who always seems to get away by having someone cover for him [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img].

Or maybe they really ARE potatoes. Perhaps some cosmic trucker overturned on the hyperspace bypass in our area and spilled a large supply of Star Taters all over our backyard.

Or maybe our entire universe is nothing but a big spud farm for hyperdimensional beings so that they can snack on fries and chips while they ponder the eternal question of Life, The Universe, and Everything.

I calculate that the spud that did in the dinosaurs could have produced about 4x10^11 sour cream and onion chips. But my numbers could be off by a factor or a bazillion or so.

[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Attack of the space taters! RUN! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Actually the potatoes are asking:

"Why are those fast talking ugly bags of water sending little robots to our big brothers and sisters in space?"