Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Rosetta Captures Breathtaking Comet Views Advancing Landing Site Selection
universetoday.com ^ | September 8, 2014 | Ken Kremer on

Posted on 09/08/2014 8:36:25 PM PDT by BenLurkin

Jagged cliffs and prominent boulders are clearly visible in unprecedented detail on the head and body of Comet 67P displaying a multitude of different terrains in the new image taken from a distance of 62 kilometers.

Meanwhile the Rosetta science team is using the OSIRIS and navcam camera images to create a preliminary map of the comets surface. The map is color coded to divide the comet into several distinct morphological regions.

“With various areas dominated by cliffs, depressions, craters, boulders or even parallel grooves, 67P/C-G displays a multitude of different terrains. Some areas even appear to have been shaped by the comet’s activity,” the Rosetta team said in the release.

The images were also shown at today’s scientific presentations at a special Rosetta research session at the 2014 European Planetary Science Congress being held in Cascais, Portugal.

The scientists are striving to meld all the imagery and data gathered from Rosetta’s 11 instruments in order to elucidate the composition and evolution of the different regions.

The mapping data is also being used to narrow the ‘Top 5’ Philae landing site candidates down to a primary and backup choice.

The final landing site selections will be made at a meeting being held this weekend on 13 and 14 September 2014 between the Rosetta Lander Team and the Rosetta orbiter team at CNES in Toulouse, France.

(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Four-image photo mosaic comprising images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera on 31 August 2014 from a distance of 61 km from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The mosaic has been rotated and contrast enhanced to bring out details. The comet nucleus is about 4 km across. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM/Ken Kremer/Marco Di Lorenzo


Several morphologically different regions are indicated in this preliminary map, which is oriented with the comet’s ‘body’ in the foreground and the ‘head’ in the background. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

1 posted on 09/08/2014 8:36:25 PM PDT by BenLurkin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

How cute that the scientific imaging system on the orbiter of ESA’s Rosetta mission to comet is called OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris

The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death — as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic.

What is dying on this comet and will rise from the dead?


2 posted on 09/08/2014 8:41:01 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jack Hydrazine

The only thing dying on that comet is the money sunk on the project. Some knowledge might arise from that — I certainly hope so!

These cutesy astro-names drive me nuts anyway. I wish the space agencies would give it a rest.


3 posted on 09/08/2014 8:47:00 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

I’ll have mine in a cup with cherries and chocolate syrup.


4 posted on 09/08/2014 8:52:09 PM PDT by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

That thing is not much smaller than Mount Everest.


5 posted on 09/08/2014 8:54:16 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Thank you for self-censoring.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jack Hydrazine

Or, some guy with a knack for acronyms came up with the name. At one company, I was that guy. I would name the projects. I became a “thing.”

Trust me, no one put THAT much thought into it.


6 posted on 09/08/2014 9:36:39 PM PDT by Vermont Lt (Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
When dripping melting plastic into a bucket of water, I get similar shapes.

Wonder if this comet was not blasted off some planet via collision, went out into space and solidified, slowly falling into the sun, then slingshot back out, over and over.

7 posted on 09/08/2014 9:42:36 PM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: going hot

It looks like a duck decoy.


8 posted on 09/08/2014 9:52:51 PM PDT by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: UCANSEE2

A used one, with shortsighted hunters.


9 posted on 09/08/2014 9:54:20 PM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

The first picture look like a Turkey head with a large plump body for Thanksgiving.


10 posted on 09/08/2014 10:56:13 PM PDT by Patriot Babe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

How does a comet differ from an asteroid, exactly?


11 posted on 09/08/2014 11:39:22 PM PDT by fwdude (The last time the GOP ran an "extremist," Reagan won 44 states.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fwdude
Asteroids look like this:


12 posted on 09/08/2014 11:47:18 PM PDT by Rome2000
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: fwdude
How does a comet differ from an asteroid, exactly?

Asteroids orbit the Sun more or less the way the planets do, except mostly in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Their orbits are more or less circular, keeping them out of trouble.

Comets have irregular orbits, typically highly eccentric. They spend most of their time far away from the Sun and out of sight. Every so often, their orbits bring them close to the Sun, which boils off volatile material as they approach, resulting in a visible tail. Of course, if they encounter a planet during their close approach to the Sun, the results can be interesting.

13 posted on 09/09/2014 12:03:34 AM PDT by cynwoody
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Jack Hydrazine

Isis... Osiris... I guess Horus is due up next. Don’t have a clue to what it all means but these Hoagland videos give us a clue about where it is supposed to end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiBSHcZ5lkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rz_XAt1bK0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp33b1gh9Zw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bntSw86S6Qc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCA8Q1iPX00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIBmgn45_eg


14 posted on 09/09/2014 1:10:13 AM PDT by MurrietaMadman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: UCANSEE2

Nessie?


15 posted on 09/09/2014 3:14:04 AM PDT by urbanpovertylawcenter (the law and poverty collide in an urban setting and sparks fly)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: going hot

“Wonder if this comet was not blasted off some planet via collision ...”

That was Tom Van Flandern’s theory ... two planets in this solar system exploded (reasons too long for here) and created what we call comets and much of the asteroids.


16 posted on 09/09/2014 3:41:27 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

We are looking at Obama’s only legacy: a little landing craft, landing on a meaningless rock, in the vast nothingness of space, for no purpose but to create a meaningless legacy, sometime in the distant future.


17 posted on 09/09/2014 5:01:29 AM PDT by norwaypinesavage (The Stone Age didnÂ’t end because we ran out of stones)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MurrietaMadman

Looks interesting. Thanks!


18 posted on 09/09/2014 5:10:34 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: cynwoody

I’m talking about composition and construction. Comets obviously are constructed differently to “boil off” a tail, when other objects within similar distances to the sun do not.


19 posted on 09/09/2014 5:44:09 AM PDT by fwdude (The last time the GOP ran an "extremist," Reagan won 44 states.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Patriot Babe

It remind me of this: http://thewildones.faketrix.com/content/pictures/original/McDonalds-deep-fried-chicken-head-happy-meal.jpg


20 posted on 09/09/2014 6:24:34 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson