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                           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 December 16   
      A black and white image shows, from the side, the wall of a high jagged   
         cliff. At the bottom of the cliff is a smooth landing dotted with   
         rocks. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
              A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov - Gerasimenko   
        Image Credit & Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO): ESA, Rosetta spacecraft,   
                  NAVCAM; Additional Processing: Stuart Atkinson   
      
      Explanation: This kilometer high cliff occurs on the surface of a   
      comet. It was discovered on the dark nucleus of Comet Churyumov -   
      Gerasimenko (CG) by Rosetta, a robotic spacecraft launched by ESA,   
      which orbited the comet from 2014 to 2016. The ragged cliff, as   
      featured here, was imaged by Rosetta early in its mission. Although   
      towering about one kilometer high, the low surface gravity of Comet CG   
      would likely make a jump from the cliffs by a human survivable. At the   
      foot of the cliffs is relatively smooth terrain dotted with boulders as   
      large as 20 meters across. Data from Rosetta indicates that the ice in   
      Comet CG has a significantly different deuterium fraction -- and hence   
      likely a different origin -- than the water in Earth's oceans. The   
      probe was named after the Rosetta Stone, a rock slab featuring the same   
      text written in three different languages that helped humanity decipher   
      ancient Egyptian writing.   
      
                       Tomorrow's picture: near to the heart   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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