Posted on 12/24/2014 5:24:51 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: These high cliffs occur on the surface of a comet. They were discovered to be part of the dark nucleus of Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko (CG) by Rosetta, a robotic spacecraft launched by ESA which began orbiting the comet in early August. The ragged cliffs, as featured here, were imaged by Rosetta about two weeks ago. Although towering about one kilometer high, the low surface gravity of Comet CG would likely make a jump from the cliffs, by a human, survivable. At the foot of the cliffs is relatively smooth terrain dotted with boulders as large as 20 meters across. Data from Rosetta indicates that the ice in Comet CG has a significantly different deuterium fraction -- and hence likely a different origin -- than the water in Earth's oceans. The Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to continue to accompany the comet as it makes its closest approach to the Sun in 2015 August.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO): ESA, Rosetta spacecraft, NAVCAM; Additional Processing: Stuart Atkinson ]
Incredible!
Thanks for posting—otherwise I would have never known of its existence.
One can learn a lot just reading the posts to FR!
Looks like a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there!
How amazing is it that this photo even exists?
Think back to when we were kids in the 1970’s. A picture like this wouldn’t even be possible then. Land a space craft on a comet was the stuff of pipe dreams.
Churyumov–Gerasimenko
So how does one pronounce that anyway? lol
(reads about like one of those dammed Icelandic Volcanoes!)
Yeah. We have much better film studios and cameras now. This was probably a black and white close up of the back of Hillary's leg.
Seriously, even now, I can’t even wrap my mind around the idea of landing on and sending back images and data from a comet.
To give you an idea of how shallow and empty headed our culture is, there was as much fuss over the shirt that one of the people working there had on, as there was over the entire event.
Just think.... This guy just helped in LANDING A CRAFT ON A COMET, and everyone is raising a fuss over the shirt he’s wearing! LOL (yes.... we ARE in fact doomed!)
So much for breakfast...I may have to forgo lunch too.
Is this one of the pictures it took prior to losing power, or did they manage to get the solar panels configured to recharge the battery? I’ve not been keeping up on it.
It’s an iconic photo. Staggering just to contemplate what it is, and what it took to make the image.
I’m so Sorry!
I should have waited until around mid-afternoon before posting such a thing, implanting disgusting thoughts in the minds of others.
Very inconsiderate of me......
Uh, on the old equipment here some of the CHR$ doesn’t work right, even when it looks right. For some unknown reason, there’s a high-ascii minus (208/D0) and a high-ascii dash (209/D1), and when I fail to catch those, we get headlines like that. Mea culpa.
I’m sure you’ll do better next time!
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