Comet’s firework display ahead of perihelion
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/08/11/comets-firework-display-ahead-of-perihelion
This article is mirrored from the main ESA Web Portal. In the approach to perihelion over the past few weeks, #Rosetta has been witnessing growing activity from #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with one dramatic outburst event proving so powerful that it even pushed away the incoming solar wind. The comet reaches perihelion on Thursday, the moment in its 6.5-year orbit when it is closest to the Sun. In recent months, the increasing solar energy has been warming the comet’s frozen ices, turning them to gas, which pours out into space, dragging dust along with it. The period around perihelion is scientifically very important, as the intensity of the sunlight increases and parts of the comet previously cast in years of darkness are flooded with sunlight. Although the comet’s general activity (...)
#Comets #CometWatch #Images #Instruments #Science ##CometWatch ##perihelion2015 #instruments #rosetta #science
