Rosetta Takes a Close-up of a Comet
The Rosetta Space probe shows surprising images of the comet it has been orbiting since last August.
When the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft rendezvoused with comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko last August, it was the first time we were able to take a close-up look at a comet for an extended period of time. According to one of the scientists who helped design the cameras that took that look, what we saw was interesting, intriguing and sometimes inexplicable.
Dr. Nicolas Thomas, an Experimental Physicist at the University of Bern in Switzerland, led the team that examined the new pictures of the comet, taken with the camera system he first started working on twenty years ago. The images revealed that the tiny comet has a huge diversity of terrains, varying widely from region to region, some of which are quite mysterious.
The comet and the probe are now approaching the Sun and so much more about it will be revealed as the comet's ice starts to melt and it becomes active and bright.
Related Links
- Paper in Science
- ESA release
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