Gallery: NASA Brings Out the Big Gun for Asteroid Impact Science
01ames-vertical-gun-range
*A top-down view of the Ames Vertical Gun Range.*
02schultz
*Planetary scientist Peter Schultz, principal investigator at the Ames Vertical Gun Range.*
03gun-barrel
*The 14-foot barrel of the gun range.*
04cameras
*High-speed cameras shoot up to 1 million frames per second to capture a simualted meteorite explosion in detail.*
05spherical-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.*
06vapor-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.*
07aftermath
*An aluminum block carries the scar of a simulated meteorite impact.*
08control-room-2
*A small control room next to the gun range is filled with computer equipment to monitor and record the impacts.*
09the-gault-position
*Peter Schultz and his graduate student, Stephanie Quintana, assume the Gault position.*
10inside-the-chamber
*Looking inside the vacuum chamber shortly after the gun range has fired. A fresh crater has been created in dolomite powder.*
11the-projectile
*Peter Schultz holds the projectile pellet that was used to fire into the dolomite powder dish.*
