Credit & Copyright: ESA / Rosetta / MPS
OSIRIS Team
Explanation:
The Rosetta spacecraft captured
this remarkable series
of 9 frames
between March 27 and May 4, as it closed from 5 million to
2 million kilometers of its target comet.
Cruising along a 6.5 year orbit toward closest approach
to the Sun next year, periodic comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
is seen moving past a distant background of
stars in Sagittarius and gobular star cluster M104.
The comet's developing coma
is actually visible by the end of the sequence, extending
for some 1300 km into space.
Rosetta is scheduled for an early August rendezvous with
the comet's nucleus.
Now clearly active,
the nucleus
is about 4 kilometers in diameter,
releasing the dusty coma as its dirty ices begin to
sublimate in the sunlight.
The Rosetta lander's
contact with the surface of the nucleus is anticipated in November.
Meteor Shower Hunt Tonight:
Looking for the
Camelopardalids
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 |
Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr' |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
|
Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami:
comet - komety - kosmicheskie apparaty
Publikacii so slovami: comet - komety - kosmicheskie apparaty | |
Sm. takzhe:
Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >> | |
