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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Comet 67P from Spacecraft Rosetta
NASA ^ | February 02, 2016 | (see photo credit)

Posted on 02/02/2016 1:43:22 PM PST by 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.

February 02, 2016

(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; churyumovgerasimenko; comet; comet67p; comets; philae; rosetta; science
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To: VaRepublican

We didn’t but the ESA did, part of their Thingy Launching Thingy.


21 posted on 02/03/2016 4:26:13 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


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