NASA’s Deep Impact probe zipped to within 435 miles (700 kilometers) of Comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4 and sent to Earth the first five close-up photos of the peanut-shaped comet.

The spacecraft’s observations paint a picture of a strange comet that’s tremendously active for its small size, with carbon-dioxide-fueled jets spouting voluminously from a rough, textured surface.

Scientists will continue digging into the data as it pours in. The ultimate goal of Deep Impact’s mission is to try to learn how comets have been shaped over the eons since the solar system’s birth, said Mike A’Hearn of the University of Maryland, principal investigator of Deep Impact’s comet flyby mission, which NASA calls EPOXI.

If they can learn what about comets — what aspects of their structure and behavior — dates back to 4.5 billion years ago, researchers can draw more conclusions about the solar system’s birth and about planet formation.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD