Close-up comet shots capture stunning detail
THE CLIFFS are a kilometre high but if you fell off them you would probably survive the impact – even if you might have asphyxiated by the time you hit the ground.
The barren, craggy landscape of Comet ChuryumovGerasimenko has been revealed in stunning detail in pictures published by the European Space Agency.
Philae lander, released onto the comet’s surface earlier this year, now lies dormant – its batteries ran down after it failed to land in a spot where they could be recharged from its solar panels.
Rosetta, however, the spacecraft that brought it there, continues to orbit the 2.5-mile-wide comet. From a distance of just a few miles away, it is allowing scientists to observe a comet in greater detail than ever before.
In February, engineers at the ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, will bring it down to within 4 miles of the comet’s surface.
This will likely be the closest Rosetta will pass in its mission, as soon afterwards the comet, travelling at more than 20 miles per second, will warm up and release too much dust and gas for such a near approach.
Rosetta will continue to orbit the comet until it gets too close to the Sun and the probe burns up.