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Credit & Copyright: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Explanation:
This Rosetta spacecraft selfie
was snapped on October 7th.
At the time the spacecraft was about 472 million kilometers
from planet Earth,
but only 16 kilometers
from the surface of
comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Looming beyond the spacecraft near the top of the frame,
dust and gas stream away from the comet's curious
double-lobed nucleus
and bright sunlight glints off one of Rosetta's 14 meter
long solar arrays.
In fact, two exposures,
one short and one long, were combined to record the
dramatic
high contrast scene using the CIVA camera system
on Rosetta's still-attached Philae lander.
Its chosen primary landing site is visible
on the smaller lobe of the nucleus.
This is the last image anticipated from Philae's cameras
before the lander separates from Rosetta on November 12.
Shortly after separation Philae will take another image
looking back toward the orbiter, and
begin its descent
to the nucleus of the comet.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spacecraft - comet
Publications with words: spacecraft - comet
See also:
- APOD: 2026 April 20 Á Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan Valley
- APOD: 2026 April 18 Á PanSTARRS and Planets
- APOD: 2026 April 14 Á The Long Wispy Tail of Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)
- APOD: 2026 April 12 Á Comet R3 PanSTARRS Brightens
- APOD: 2026 February 17 Á Tails of Comet Wierzchoå
- NanoSail D2
- APOD: 2025 December 30 Á An Artificial Comet