Wake up, Rosetta!

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Awesome New Radar Images and Video of Asteroid 2004 BL86

In this instance the over used word Awesome is entirely appropriate.

 

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Nice video. But Asteroids are more sexy than planes and Stars are hotter than fireworks

 

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new hi-res sexy stuff by ESA

 

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The surface .... It's changing!!! New images

It only makes sense. Sunlight heats a comet and causes ice to vaporize. This leads to changes in the appearance of surface features. For instance, the Sun’s heat can gnaw away at the ice on sunward-facing cliffs, hollowing them out and eventually causing them to collapse in icy rubble. Solar heating can also warm the ice that’s beneath the surface.

 

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Best images ever taken of comet 67P

 

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new stuff

erosion diagram

 

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@Drone what does the erosion data show ?

 

[Drone]

@Drone what does the erosion data show ?

Nice question. It's got to do with dust thickness

<<According to recent model calculations, the southern half of 67P could lose a dust layer of up to 20 m during one orbit>>

Comet's surface is changing due to ultraviolet rays from the Sun. Ice thaws (sublimates to be exact), water molecules get ionized .. well usual procedure for all comets lol. Surface gets "goosebumps" and all that stuff. Like in these diagrams:

They said they published results in a special edition of the journal Science. Duh ... unfortunately I don't have that journal. Gotta find it sooner or later XD

 

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New

 

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Sharpest and closest images ever taken

And here's the most awesome pic

About 8.9 km from the comet's surface

 

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Rosetta's Shadow

Rosetta has captured a selfie of its shadow on comet 67P in what is the highest-resolution image to be taken by the probe.

The image was taken during a Valentine's Day flyby when Rosetta passed within just four miles (6 km) from the surface of the icy comet.

As well as the craft's shadow, an 'alien' glow is seen reflected onto the comet, which scientists believe is caused by a trick of the light from the sun.
The glow causes the shadow to be fuzzy and somewhat larger than Rosetta itself, measuring approximately 65ft by 165 ft (20 by 50 metres).

If the sun were farther away, the shadow would be sharp and almost exactly the same size as Rosetta, which is around 2 x 32 metres.

and how

A brief recap on the story so far



Esa's Rosetta spacecraft launched on 2 March 2004 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, on a mission to visit comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
It took more than ten years to reach the comet, and on the way it flew past Mars and two asteroids.
On 6 August 2014 it entered orbit around the comet, beginning a series of complex manoeuvres to get the best views possible.
On 12 November 2014 Rosetta successfully released a smaller vehicle it had carried called Philae. This small probe bounced twice on the surface before coming to rest.
Although Philae's landing did not go as planned, it was still able to complete more than 90 per cent of the science it was intended to do before its main batteries died, sending the probe to sleep.
The location of the lander is currently unknown. It is thought to be in partial shadow near a cliff but, as the comet approaches the sun, the additional light may charge its solar panels enough for the lander to wake up.
Rosetta, meanwhile, is continuing its mission around the comet. 67P is approaching the sun and, by August this year, it is thought its activity will have dramatically increased.
This will release much more ice, vapour and other materials from the surface - and Rosetta will be there to watch it all happen.

 

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Scientists try to make contact with missing space probe as it nears the sun - and hope to get a response

• European Space Agency has begun attempting to contact the lost probe
• Philae has been missing since November when it landed on Comet 67p
• Scientists believe the lander bounced into a ditch in the shade of a cliff
• But they say it may already be awake but not yet able to send messages
• The probe needs 19 Watts of power from its solar panels to communicate
• As the comet gets closer to the sun the lander may receive more sunlight
• Scientists have sent commands to Philae for it to begin warming itself up
• They will attempt to contact the lander with Rosetta over the next 8 days

Philae requires its internal temperature to reach at least -45 degrees C before it can wake up.
It will also require at least 5.5 watts from its solar panels to wake up.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...be-nears-sun-hope-response.html#ixzz3UdSAZHfS

 

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Rosetta Spacecraft Makes Nitrogen Discovery on Comet

A peculiar mix of molecular nitrogen on the comet target of Europe's Rosetta spacecraft may offer clues to the conditions that gave birth to the entire solar system.

Molecular nitrogen was one of the key ingredients of the young solar system. Its detection in Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which Rosetta is currently orbiting, suggests that the comet formed under low-temperature conditions (a requirement to keeping nitrogen as ice), according to officials with the European Space Agency.
Since nitrogen is also found in planets and moons in the outer solar system, Rosetta's discovery implies that 67P's family of comets formed in the same area, ESA said.

full article
http://www.space.com/28884-rosetta-comet-nitrogen-discovery.html?cmpid=559181

 

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Rosetta's kamikaze mission

The Rosetta probe may be sent crashing into comet 67P at the end of its lifetime next year.

The dramatic end to the mission would see the spacecraft sent lower and lower until it slammed into the surface, returning important science in its dying moments.
But there is also a possibility the spacecraft could land on the surface, returning unprecedented images and data about the comet

During this time, the spacecraft will observe the comet at its most active but, eventually, the mission will have to come to an end when Rosetta runs out of fuel and power.
This is expected to occur in September 2016.

Currently, the mission will officially end in December this year, but scientists are hopeful of getting an extension.
At the moment, the current plan at the end of the mission is to shut the spacecraft down, and leave it drifting in space.

But a proposal to crash Rosetta into the surface was apparently put to Esa by Rosetta project scientist Dr Matt Taylor, from the UK, this week. Speaking to Sen, he said that such a finale was appealing because of the science it could glean.

‘The proposal to put the probe on the comet’s surface provides us with unique, close comet observations that we could not have if we don’t do this,’ Dr Taylor said.
‘Also, I feel from a "personal" perspective, there is something rather fitting in putting Rosetta down on the surface, re-uniting it with Philae.'

The Philae lander is currently dormant on the surface after going into hibernation in November 2014, although repeated attempts are now being made to wake it up. It’s unknown at what speed the Rosetta spacecraft would impact, and what sort of science would be returned. However, the proposal is likely to be an appealing one.

Nasa recently performed a similar maneouvre with its Messenger spacecraft, which was sent slamming into the surface of Mercury on 30 April 2015. And on 4 July 2005, Nasa's Deep Impact spacecraft launched an impactor into the surface of the comet Tempel 1 and observed the results. The impact released an unexpectedly large and bright cloud of dust, and also left behind a noticeable crater on the surface.

Dr Taylor said that while the orbiter wasn’t designed to land, there was a possibility it could touch down gently on the surface. This would allow it to study the surface in unprecedented detail, and return incredible up-close images to Earth. Communication with Earth would be difficult, though, as the antenna must be pointed towards our planet to make contact.

‘It’s not expected [to be possible], it’s a bumpy terrain,’ Dr Taylor said. ‘But then Rosetta tends to surprise us, so let’s see.’


Such a landing would not be unprecedented; on 12 February 2001, Nasa’s Near Shoemaker spacecraft touched down on the asteroid Eros. It was the first time a spacecraft had ever soft-landed on an asteroid, and the scientists at the time were surprised the craft could handle the landing. Near Shoemaker returned invaluable data about the composition of Eros, and perhaps Rosetta could return similar information about comet 67P.

 

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Philae comet lander wakes up

The European Space Agency (Esa) says its comet lander, Philae, has woken up and contacted Earth.

Philae, the first spacecraft to land on a comet, was dropped on to the surface of Comet 67P by its mothership, Rosetta, last November.

It worked for 60 hours before its solar-powered battery ran flat.

The comet has since moved nearer to the Sun and Philae has enough power to work again, says the BBC's science correspondent Jonathan Amos.

An account linked to the probe tweeted the message, "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?"

On its blog, Esa said Philae had contacted Earth, via Rosetta, for 85 seconds on Saturday in the first contact since going into hibernation in November.

The ESA said on Thursday that it may have found the exact location of the comet from images and other data from the mothership, which was previously unknown.

 

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Philae radioed Rosetta for 12 minutes last Thursday evening, and was able to transmit data from one of its instruments, CONSERT, which is probing the internal structure of the comet, the DLR German Aerospace Centre said on Friday.

The team, which had not received communication from Philae since June 24, had attempted to turn on the CONSERT instrument on July 5 but were not sure if the command had been picked up.

'This sign of life from Philae proves to us that at least one of the lander's communication units remains operational and receives our commands,' said Koen Geurts, a member of the lander control team at the DLR in Cologne.

However, the team is still unsure as to why Philae managed to communicate on Thursday but not before, the statement said.

'The new information will help us understand why we're having these difficulties communicating with Philae,' Geurts said.

Recently the comet hit the headlines when it was claimed comet lander Philae may be sitting on an object teeming with alien microbial life, according to two leading astronomers.

Thursday's eighth contact was the longest yet, with an uninterrupted stretch of 12 minutes, said the CNES, which allowed the downloading of critical data obtained from Philae's prodding and probing of its alien world.

'The link was by far the best yet, with very few interruptions,' said the statement.

'It bodes well for the future because such a good connection would allow the teams to take control of Philae and give it commands'—possibly to shift position or start its drill for a sub-surface examination.

 

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Philae has fallen 'silent' on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, concerned scientists have revealed.
Scientists say the robotic lander may have shifted its position, making it harder to communicate with the Rosetta probe.
The European Space Agency revealed it hasn't received data from the lander since July 9.
Philae's project manager, Stephan Ulamec, said the pattern of sunlight on the lander's solar panels appears to have changed, possibly due to a slight shift in position triggered by gas coming out of the comet.

One of Philae's two transmission units also appears to be faulty

In total, more than 70 per cent of the comet's surface has now been imaged and beamed back to earth

Philae will now join the comet as it makes its closest approach to the sun on 13 August 2015. After that, the comet will begin to move away back out into the solar system. It is expected that Philae will no longer have enough sunlight to continue working by about mid-October

 

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New image and water-ice cycle diagram

 

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I knew it! I knew it!

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/How_Rosetta_s_comet_got_its_shape

Two comets collided at low speed in the early Solar System to give rise to the distinctive ‘rubber duck’ shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, say Rosetta scientists.

The origin of the comet’s double-lobed form has been a key question since Rosetta first revealed its surprising shape in July 2014.

By using high-resolution images taken between 6 August 2014 and 17 March 2015 to study the layers of material seen all over the nucleus, they have shown that the shape arose from a low-speed collision between two fully fledged, separately formed comets.

Gravity field vectors of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.

 

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First Peek at the Comet's 'Dark Side'

 

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Magnetic field lines

The “undisturbed” interplanetary magnetic field is visible on the left, the bow shock at the centre and the magnetic field draped around the comet on the right. The small blue sphere, with a radius of about 100 km, shows the size of the innermost coma, which contains the diamagnetic cavity, the ion and magnetic field pile-up regions.

The image was taken a few hours after the spacecraft had reached the farthest point 1488 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

 

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Very cool stuff. Thanks for all the updates.

 

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Philae's 1st Comet Touchdown

New 3D Image

 

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This stuff just gets better and better, its a great time to be alive and fascinated by whats upstairs.

 

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new image of Cherry-Gerry

Btw Rosetta also managed to take a picture of asteroid Lutetia

Looking face on at the North Pole Crater Cluster (purple outline) on asteroid Lutetia, with Massilia to the lower left (red outline). Marked on the image are the concentric grooves or 'lineaments' associated with the large craters. The lineaments colored blue infer the presence of a large crater Suspicio on the unseen portion of Lutetia. Yellow denotes lineaments not associated with any of the craters discussed in this study.