                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 January 6

                     The Snows of Churyumov-Gerasimenko
                  Images Credit: ESA, Rosetta, MPS, OSIRIS;
                     UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA;
                        Animation: Jacint Roger Perez

   Explanation: You couldn't really be caught in this blizzard while
   standing by a cliff on periodic comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
   Orbiting the comet in June of 2016, the Rosetta spacecraft's narrow
   angle camera did record streaks of dust and ice particles similar to
   snow as they drifted across the field of view close to the camera and
   above the comet's surface. Still, some of the bright specks in the
   scene are likely due to a rain of energetic charged particles or cosmic
   rays hitting the camera, and the dense background of stars in the
   direction of the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). In the
   video, the background stars are easy to spot trailing from top to
   bottom. The stunning movie was constructed from 33 consecutive images
   taken over 25 minutes while Rosetta cruised some 13 kilometers from the
   comet's nucleus. In September 2016, the nucleus became the final
   resting place for the Rosetta spacecraft after its mission was ended
   with a successful controlled impact on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

                      Tomorrow's picture: cats in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

