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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: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- APOD: 2024 November 11 Á The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas
- APOD: 2024 November 6 Á Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas over the Dolomites
- APOD: 2024 October 21 Á Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS over California
- Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS Flys Away
- Most of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS