NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has determined the size of the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers.
The estimated diameter is approximately 80 miles (120 km) across, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island.
The nucleus is about 50 times larger than found at the heart of most known comets.
Its mass is estimated to be a … Read the rest of this article
As Rosetta’s comet approached its most active period last year, the spacecraft spotted carbon dioxide ice – never before seen on a comet – followed by the emergence of two unusually large patches of water ice.
The carbon dioxide ice layer covered an area comparable to the size of a football pitch, while the two water ice patches were each … Read the rest of this article
Rosetta is set to complete its historic mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September, with the end of mission confirmation predicted to be within 20 minutes of 11:20 GMT (13:20 CEST).
Details of how, when and where to follow the key moments online, starting with a review of the mission’s impressive haul of … Read the rest of this article
Animation visualising Rosetta’s two-year journey around Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
The animation begins on 31 July 2014, during Rosetta’s final approach to the comet after its ten-year journey through space. The spacecraft arrived at a distance of 100 km on 6 August whereupon it gradually approached the comet and entered initial mapping orbits that were needed to select a landing site for … Read the rest of this article
Silent since its last call to mothership Rosetta seven months ago, the Philae lander is facing conditions on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from which it is unlikely to recover.
Rosetta, which continues its scientific investigations at the comet until September before its own comet-landing finale, has in recent months been balancing science observations with flying dedicated trajectories optimised to listen out for … Read the rest of this article
One year since Philae made its historic landing on a comet, mission teams remain hopeful for renewed contact with the lander, while also looking ahead to next year’s grand finale: making a controlled impact of the Rosetta orbiter on the comet.
Rosetta arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 6 August 2014, and after an initial survey and selection of a landing … Read the rest of this article
Since its arrival at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft has been surveying the surface and the environment of this curiously shaped body. But for a long time, a portion of the nucleus — the dark, cold regions around the comet’s south pole — remained inaccessible to almost all instruments on the spacecraft.
Due to a combination of … Read the rest of this article
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence for a daily water-ice cycle on and near the surface of comets.
Comets are celestial bodies comprising a mixture of dust and ices, which they periodically shed as they swing towards their closest point to the Sun along their highly eccentric orbits.
As sunlight heats the frozen nucleus of a comet, the ice in … Read the rest of this article
The adventure continues: ESA today confirmed that its Rosetta mission will be extended until the end of September 2016, at which point the spacecraft will most likely be landed on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Rosetta was launched in 2004 and arrived at the comet in August 2014, where it has been studying the nucleus and its environment as the … Read the rest of this article
Here’s a replay of the media briefing at the Paris Air Show with members of the Rosetta team following contact being re-established with Rosetta’s Philae lander. ESA’s Rosetta comet-chaser has captured the world’s imagination. It is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet, land and escort it during its journey around the Sun. The briefing includes an … Read the rest of this article
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The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
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