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APOD: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
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Credit & Copyright: Stuart Atkinson
Explanation:
This kilometer high cliff occurs on the surface of a comet.
It was discovered on the dark nucleus of
Comet Churyumov - Gerasimenko (CG) by
Rosetta,
a robotic spacecraft
launched by
ESA,
which orbited the comet from 2014 to 2016.
The ragged cliff, as featured
here, was imaged by Rosetta early in its mission.
Although towering about one kilometer high, the low surface gravity of
Comet CG would likely make a
jump from the
cliffs by a human survivable.
At the foot of the cliffs is relatively smooth terrain dotted with
boulders as large as 20 meters across.
Data from
Rosetta
indicates that the ice in
Comet CG has a significantly different
deuterium fraction --
and hence likely a different origin -- than the water in Earth's oceans.
The probe was named after the
Rosetta Stone, a rock slab featuring the
same text written in three different languages
that helped humanity
decipher ancient Egyptian writing.
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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: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- 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
- The Clipper and the Comet