Big Bang Monday: Comet of the Month
Monday, August 18th, 2014
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko activity on 2 August 2014. The image was taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS wide-angle camera from a distance of 550 km. The exposure time of the image was 330 seconds and the comet nucleus is saturated to bring out the detail of the comet activity. Note there is a ghost image to the right. The image resolution is 55 metres per pixel.
ESA’s Rosetta Mission is sending back some very interesting images, especially for those who were curious about what these big rocks look like. It’s the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet.
The one from 7 August 20014 gave us a pretty good close-up…
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko imaged by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow angle camera on 7 August from a distance of 104 km.
Not as exciting as we’d expect, yet it’s most fascinating.
So how big is this comet? Thanks to @quark1972, now we now. Here’s the comet next to Los Angeles.
