New Views of the Rosetta Comet   
       
   July 24, 2014: As the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe approaches Comet   
   67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) for an August rendezvous, the comet's core is   
   coming into sharper focus. Today, ESA released a new set of images and a   
   striking 3D model of 67P's nucleus.   
       
   http://tinyurl.com/q9qsdx4   
       
   Images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken on July 14, 2014, by the   
   OSIRIS imaging system aboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft   
   have allowed scientists to create this three-dimensional shape model of the   
   nucleus. Image Credit:  ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team/MPS/UPD/   
   AM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM Full image and caption   
       
   The resolution of the latest images taken by the spacecraft's OSIRIS imaging   
   system on July 20th is 330 feet (100 meters) per pixel.  At that resolution,   
   67P appears to consist of two parts: a smaller head connected to a larger   
   body. The connecting region, the neck, is proving to be especially intriguing.   
       
   "The only thing we know for sure at this point is that this neck region   
   appears brighter compared to the head and body of the nucleus," says OSIRIS   
   Principal Investigator Holger Sierks from the Max Planck Institute for Solar   
   System Research in Germany. This collar-like appearance could be caused by   
   differences in material or grain size, or could be a topographical effect--no   
   one knows.   
       
   The appearance of 67P reminds mission scientists of comet 103P/Hartley, which   
   was visited in a flyby by NASA's EPOXI mission in 2010. While Hartley's ends   
   show a rather rough surface, its middle is much smoother. Scientists believe   
   this waist to be a "gravitational low." Because it contains the body's center   
   of mass, material kicked up by, say, meteoroid impacts, that cannot leave the   
   comet's gravitational field is most likely to be re-deposited there.   
       
   http://tinyurl.com/nr6bzh4   
       
   Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was imaged by the European Space Agency's   
   Rosetta spacecraft on July 20, 2014, from a distance of approximately 3,400   
   miles (5,500 kilometers). These three images were taken two hours apart. Image   
   Credit:  ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team/MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM Full   
   image and caption   
       
   Whether this also holds true for 67P's neck region is still unclear. Another   
   explanation for the high reflectivity could be a different surface   
   composition. In coming weeks, the OSIRIS team hopes to analyze the spectral   
   data of this region obtained with the help of the imaging system's filters.   
   These can select several wavelength regions from the reflected light, allowing   
   scientists to identify the fingerprints of certain materials and compositional   
   features.   
       
   Rosetta will be the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet,   
   escort it as it orbits the sun, and deploy a lander to its surface. ESA says   
   the next high-resolution OSIRIS image will be published on July 31st.  Stay   
   tuned!   
       
   Credits:   
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
       
   Credits:   
   Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by the German   
   Aerospace Center, Cologne; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research,   
   Gottingen; French National Space Agency, Paris; and the Italian Space Agency,   
   Rome. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of   
   Technology, Pasadena, manages the U.S. participation in the Rosetta mission   
   for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Rosetta carries three   
   NASA instruments in its 21-instrument payload.   
       
   Web Links   
   European Space Agency home page   
       
   Rosetta -- from the ESA   
       
   Rosetta -- from NASA   
       
   NASA Instruments on Rosetta   
       
   Rosetta Comet Comes Alive -- from Science@NASA   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)