Rosetta s Rendezvous
Explanation:
On August 3rd, the Rosetta spacecraft's narrow angle camera captured
this stunning image of the nucleus of Comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
After 10 years and 6.5 billion kilometers of travel
along gravity assist trajectories
looping through
interplanetary space, Rosetta had approached to within
285 kilometers of its target.
The
curious
double-lobed shape of the nucleus is
revealed in amazing detail
at an image resolution of 5.3 meters per pixel.
About 4 kilometers across, the comet nucleus
is presently just over 400 million kilometers from Earth,
between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
Now the first spacecraft
to achieve a
delicate
orbit around a comet,
Rosetta will swing to within 50 kilometers and closer in the coming
weeks, identifiying candidate sites for landing its probe
Philae later this year.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
