Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Comet 67P from Spacecraft Rosetta

NASA ^ | February 02, 2016 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Spacecraft Rosetta continues to circle and map Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Crossing the inner Solar System for ten years to reach the vicinity of the comet in 2014, the robotic spacecraft continues to image the unusual double-lobed comet nucleus. The featured image, taken one year ago, shows dust and gas escaping from the comet's nucleus. Although appearing bright here, the comet's surface reflects only about four percent of impinging visible light, making it as dark as coal. Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko spans about four kilometers in length and has a surface gravity so low that an astronaut could jump off of it. With Rosetta in tow, Comet 67P passed its closest to the Sun last year and is now headed back to the furthest point -- just past the orbit of Jupiter.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit and Copyright: ESA, Rosetta, NAVCAM]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

join or quit list APoD 'blog post new APoD topic Astronomy Picture of the Day topic & keyword Astronomy Chat, Bloggers & keyword Science Chat, Bloggers & keyword NASA's APoD archive Calendar 1995-present APoD on your desktop

[soycd]

I see the Devil in that picture.

[txnativegop]

How odd looking and a strange name to match.

[Flick Lives]

Comet 67p. It's, it's, it's a giant rubber duck!

[Hot Tabasco]

I see the Devil in that picture.

I see a dust mite...........

[txnativegop]

I see a two-scoop ice cream that has been dropped and run over. LOL

[rdl6989]

I see a dumbbell.

[Resolute Conservative]

According to hollyweird comets and asteroids have jagged surfaces and fire and smoke and shuttles land on them.

[BenLurkin]

Great pic from an impressive space mission.

[thackney]

[BenLurkin]

Closeup

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[Red Badger]

I see a Sphinx............

[Jack Hydrazine]

Any word on the Rosetta lander, Philae?

In case you missed it...

“Ambition” movie short
starring Aiden Gillen and Aisling Franciosi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H08tGjXNHO4

The making of ‘Ambition’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud9ON2CzYYM

[M Kehoe]

I see Venus, a Venus fly trap.

Do I win anything?

5.56mm

[American in Israel]

Great picture, but the notion that dust is streaming off of the comet is stupid, there is no wind, and the streams go in different directions, most between the two lobes. It is obviously a coronal discharge.

[SunkenCiv]

One last attempt was made to make contact, that was perhaps a month or two ago.

[VaRepublican]

So what yer saying is we sent a thingy out into space and took a pic of this other thingy.....

[VaRepublican]

If sarc didn’t come across then I’m sorry. what kind of math came into play to make this work?