Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

An active comet, from a distance

Emily Lakdawalla

Written by Emily Lakdawalla
February 13, 2015

As I write this, Rosetta has closed to within 50 kilometers of Churyumov-Gerasimenko, on its way to a very close, 6-kilometer flyby of the comet tomorrow. ESA posted a detailed blog about the flyby today, and how it is typical of Rosetta's mission throughout 2015. But that's not what I'm writing about here. To prepare for the flyby, Rosetta traveled much farther away, allowing it to snap these amazing photos of an increasingly active comet from a great distance. Enjoy!

An active comet, from a distance
An active comet, from a distance Rosetta traveled to a distance of 124 kilometers from Churyumov-Gerasimenko to take this photo on February 6, 2015. The spacecraft was preparing for its close flyby on February 14. The most active area of the comet is the neck, but jets are visible from much of the rest of the sunlit terrain.Image: ESA / Rosetta / NavCam
Comet behind a curtain
Comet behind a curtain Comet jets rise out of the shadowed neck, appearing only when they reach sunlight. Rosetta took this photo of Churyumov-Gerasimenko from a distance of 105 kilometers on February 9, 2015, as it began diving toward the comet for a close flyby on February 14. At this distance, the image is about 9.1 kilometers square.Image: ESA / Rosetta / NavCam

Support our core enterprises

Your gift today will go far to help us close out the year strong and keep up our momentum in 2026.

Donate