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This montage shows the only five comets imaged up close with the EPOXI mission spacecraft.

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Fab Five

This montage shows the only five comets imaged up close with spacecraft. The comets vary in shape and size. Comet Hartley 2 is by far the smallest and has the most activity in relation to its surface area. This jet activity can be seen extending from the comet's surface and into its outer shell of gas and dust, or coma. This is first time scientists have been able to link jets to the details of the surface.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD