The University of Maryland is looking for advanced CCD observers to monitor periodic comet 9P/Tempel 1 from June through December 2000, when the comet passes through opposition and heads towards Jupiter.

Tempel 1 is the target of the Deep Impact Mission. The objective of this mission is to send a flyby spacecraft to comet Tempel 1 in 2004. During the summer of 2005, the spacecraft will launch a 500-kg impactor toward the nucleus of the comet. The impactor will excavate a 20-m crater in the nucleus. The resulting impact will be observed by the spacecraft and by ground-based observatories.

The mission is currently in the design stage. Computer models of the little-studied comet need to be developed to aid mission design. Scientific data is needed on the comet's brightness changes, coma structures, and dust activity over several days as well as several months. This is difficult, if not impossible to do at professional observatories. To meet this need for data, the mission has established the Small Telescope Science Program, a network of professional and technically advanced amateur astronomers from around the world to make CCD observations of the comet from now through December 2000.

For information on how to participate, go to the Small Telescope Science Program. The site provides detailed observing requirements as well as CC((d.images)) taken by some of the program's observers.

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