Aug 19, 2013 6:30 AM

Gallery: NASA Brings Out the Big Gun for Asteroid Impact Science

01
ames-vertical-gun-range
*A top-down view of the Ames Vertical Gun Range.*
02
schultz
*Planetary scientist Peter Schultz, principal investigator at the Ames Vertical Gun Range.*

03
gun-barrel
*The 14-foot barrel of the gun range.*
04
cameras
*High-speed cameras shoot up to 1 million frames per second to capture a simualted meteorite explosion in detail.*

05
spherical-impact
*High-speed animation of a projectile crashing through a transparent sphere, which models the shockwaves from a meteorite impact propagating through the interior of a planet. Animation courtesy Peter Schultz.*
06
vapor-cone
*High-speed film showing the aftermath of a projectile hitting a simulated planetary surface in the gun's vacuum chamber. Video courtesy Peter Schultz.*

07
aftermath
*An aluminum block carries the scar of a simulated meteorite impact.*
08
control-room-2
*A small control room next to the gun range is filled with computer equipment to monitor and record the impacts.*

09
the-gault-position
*Peter Schultz and his graduate student, Stephanie Quintana, assume the Gault position.*
10
inside-the-chamber
*Looking inside the vacuum chamber shortly after the gun range has fired. A fresh crater has been created in dolomite powder.*

11
the-projectile
*Peter Schultz holds the projectile pellet that was used to fire into the dolomite powder dish.*

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