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A Newly Released Image Taken From The Rosetta Probe Reveals The Stunning Surface And Features Of Comet 67P

By Kristine Moore
Published on: 09:24 PST, Oct 2, 2018

If you have ever found yourself contemplating what it would be like if you were to set foot on a comet, a newly released image that was taken by the Rosetta probe will answer this question, with the snapshot of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) revealing a beautiful and expansive surface view of the comet.

The photograph of Comet 67P shows the geological feature Seth up close, with Seth sitting on the biggest of the two lobes that are found on the comet’s surface. As the Daily Mail reports, when the breathtaking picture was snapped, the Rosetta spacecraft was a good 17 miles away from the center of the comet.

Amateur astronomer Jacint Roger Perez is the individual that is responsible for choosing the new picture of the surface of Comet 67P, with Perez constructing the photographic masterpiece out of three different images that were taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera.

The European Space Agency notes that when gazing at the new image, Seth can be easily spotted sitting directly to the left of the center of the photograph. The ESA says of Seth that it is “one of the geological regions on the larger of the two comet lobes, which declines towards the smoother Hapi region on the comet’s ‘neck’ that connects the two lobes.”

The ESA also explained that as you’re looking at the picture, in the background can be seen the beginnings of the Babi and Aker regions.

“The landscape in the background reveals hints of the Babi and Aker regions, both located on the large lobe of 67P/C-G.”

The magical images of Comet 67P were captured by the Rosetta probe back on September 22, 2014, and just two years later on September 30, 2016, the spacecraft pulled off a spectacular and controlled crash onto the surface of the comet. Here it joined the Philae lander, who had also been crashed just two years prior to the Rosetta.

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was christened after the astronomers from the Soviet Union who first discovered it back in 1960, and the comet has been found to span 2.7 by 2.5 miles. The comet completes its full orbit around Jupiter every six-and-a-half years.

Despite the fact that the Rosetta is now safely on the surface of the comet whose new image we are looking at today, there was so much data that was collected on its mission that scientists are still going over it all today.

And when it comes to data, no one who has seen the GIF below could ever forget watching cosmic dust rain down in the background around the comet, which is all courtesy of the Rosetta and was originally captured on June 1, 2016.

With the newly released image of the surface of Comet 67P comes the possibility that we may see more images like this headed our way soon as scientists continue to analyze data collected by the Rosetta probe.

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