Waspie_Dwarf Posted August 12, 2015 #1 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Comet's Firework Display Ahead Of Perihelion 11 August 2015In the approach to perihelion over the past few weeks, Rosetta has been witnessing growing activity from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with one dramatic outburst event proving so powerful that it even pushed away the incoming solar wind.The comet reaches perihelion on Thursday, the moment in its 6.5-year orbit when it is closest to the Sun. In recent months, the increasing solar energy has been warming the comet’s frozen ices, turning them to gas, which pours out into space, dragging dust along with it. The period around perihelion is scientifically very important, as the intensity of the sunlight increases and parts of the comet previously cast in years of darkness are flooded with sunlight. Read more... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quasar_kid Posted August 12, 2015 #2 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Very nice capture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastieRunner Posted August 12, 2015 #3 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Nice timing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilnat89 Posted August 12, 2015 #4 Share Posted August 12, 2015 wow how amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted August 13, 2015 #5 Share Posted August 13, 2015 That happens to me every time I have burritos. But seriously, that's pretty cool, especially since they were not sure for a while if the lander would ever send video again at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted August 13, 2015 Author #6 Share Posted August 13, 2015 especially since they were not sure for a while if the lander would ever send video again at one point. Two points: Firstly this isn't video, it's a series of still images. Secondly the Philae lander didn't take them, the Rosetta orbiter did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted August 14, 2015 #7 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted August 14, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Rosetta's Day in the Sun 13 August 2015 ESA’s Rosetta today witnessed Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko making its closest approach to the Sun. The exact moment of perihelion occurred at 02:03 GMT this morning when the comet came within 186 million km of the Sun. In the year that has passed since Rosetta arrived, the comet has travelled some 750 million kilometres along its orbit towards the Sun, the increasing solar radiation heating up the nucleus and causing its frozen ices to escape as gas and stream out into space at an ever greater rate. These gases, and the dust particles that they drag along, build up the comet’s atmosphere – coma – and tail. Read more... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted August 21, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Rosetta's moment in the SunComet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has now passed perihelion (its closest distance to the Sun) and is now spending several weeks at peak activity. This activity is unpredictable so the flight operations team must be prepared to react to fast jets of dust and gas erupting from the comet or stray boulders ejected from its surface.This video covers how ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, is monitoring the comet’s activity, how quickly the Rosetta spacecraft can respond, and the orbiter’s plans to spiral down towards the surface of the comet at the end of its mission in September 2016.Credit: ESASource: ESA - YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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