#perihelion2015

Video report : the end is in sight
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/02/video-report-the-end-is-in-sight

Post-perihelion changes, close flybys, and preparing for end of mission!

#Comet_67P #Comets #Images #Instruments #Landing #Operations #Rosetta #Science ##CometLanding ##perihelion2015 #navcam #osiris #rosetta #science #trajectory

Celebrating two years at the comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/08/05/celebrating-two-years-at-the-comet

We’re celebrating #Rosetta’s two year anniversary at #Comet_67P/C-G (tomorrow!) with a new animation visualising the spacecraft’s incredible adventure flying alongside the comet. The animation begins on 31 July 2014, during #rosetta’s final approach to the comet after its ten-year journey through space. The spacecraft arrived at a distance of 100 km on 6 August whereupon it gradually approached the comet and entered initial mapping orbits that were needed to select a #Landing site for #philae. These observations also enabled the first comet #Science of the mission. The manoeuvres in the lead up to, during and after Philae’s deployment on 12 November are seen, before Rosetta settled into longer-term science orbits. In February and March 2015 the spacecraft made several flybys. One of the closest (...)

#Arrival #Operations ##CometLanding ##LivingWithAComet ##perihelion2015 ##WakeUpRosetta #orbit #timeline #trajectory

New Vangelis album inspired by ESA’s #Rosetta mission
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/07/29/new-vangelis-album-inspired-by-esas-rosetta-mission

Legendary composer and pioneer of electronic #music Vangelis has produced a brand new album, ‘Rosetta’, inspired by ESA’s #rosetta mission. The release of the album by Decca Records on 23 September coincides with the culmination of Rosetta’s 12-year mission to orbit and land its #Philae probe on #comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta is set to complete its journey in a controlled descent to the surface of the comet on 30 September. The story of this mission fuelled Vangelis’ long-held passion for space and inspired him to create his first new studio album in 18 years. Vangelis’ music is often linked to themes of science, history and exploration. Alongside his Academy Award-winning score for ‘Chariots of Fire’, he has written for the films including ‘Antarctica’, ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’, (...)

#Comets_and_culture #Fun_stuff ##CometLanding ##perihelion2015 #lander #philae

The changing #comet – call for contributions
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/06/03/the-changing-comet-call-for-contributions

Do you enjoy poring over #Images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko? Have you spotted any changes in its surface features since #Rosetta first arrived at the comet in August 2014? We are keen to hear from you! Between #navcam and #osiris, and not forgetting the regular “OSIRIS image of the day” images and our NAVCAM #CometWatch entries, there are over 20 000 images publicly available to browse covering the 667 days #rosetta has to date spent at the comet. Indeed, 780 new images have been added to our NAVCAM Archive Image Browser this week, covering the period 6 April – 3 May 2016. Thanks to the hard work of the Rosetta downlink and archive group, this means that from now on, every month you will be able to access the full set of NAVCAM images taken during the previous month, and be able to keep (...)

##perihelion2015 #activity

#Rosetta’s #comet contains ingredients for life
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/05/27/rosettas-comet-contains-ingredients-for-life

This story is mirrored from the ESA Web Portal Ingredients regarded as crucial for the origin of life on Earth have been discovered at the comet that ESA’s #rosetta spacecraft has been probing for almost two years. They include the amino acid glycine, which is commonly found in proteins, and phosphorus, a key component of DNA and cell membranes. Scientists have long debated the important possibility that water and organic molecules were brought by asteroids and #Comets to the young Earth after it cooled following its formation, providing some of the key building blocks for the emergence of life. While some comets and asteroids are already known to have water with a composition like that of Earth’s oceans, Rosetta found a significant difference at its comet – fuelling the debate on their (...)

#Comet_67P #Instruments #Science ##perihelion2015 #activity #ground-based_observations #instruments

Perihelion images in #navcam archive
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/01/13/perihelion-images-in-navcam-archive

759 NAVCAM images from around perihelion, covering the period 1 July to 25 August 2015, are now available in the Archive Image Browser. Browse them in the folders labelled “Comet Escort 3 MTP018” and “Comet Escort 3 MTP019” 

#Comet_67P #Rosetta ##CometLanding ##perihelion2015 #activity #comet

#Rosetta’s big day in the Sun
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/08/13/rosettas-big-day-in-the-sun

ESA’s #rosetta today witnessed #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko making its closest approach to the Sun. The exact moment of #perihelion occurred at 02:03 GMT this morning when the #comet came within 186 million km of the Sun. Read the full story and see the latest #Images on the ESA Web Portal. (coming soon on the blog too)

#Ground-based_observations #Instruments #Science ##perihelion2015

#CometWatch 6 August
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/08/11/cometwatch-6-august

Today’s CometWatch entry is an image of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken on 6 August 2015, exactly a year to the day of #Rosetta's historic rendezvous. The image was taken 261 km from the #comet centre. Currently, the comet is around 186 million km from the Sun, and it will reach #perihelion – the closest point to the Sun along its orbit – next Thursday. This image shows an intense comet activity, with prominent outflows and jets of material and the unlit patches of the nucleus standing out as a silhouette against the overall bright background. Due to the increased concentration of gas and dust over the last few months, #rosetta is now studying the comet from safer distances, and is currently operating some 300 km out. In the spirit of celebrating Rosetta’s first year at the comet, we (...)

#Arrival #Comets #Fun_stuff #Images #On_this_day ##perihelion2015 #navcam

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

#amateur_astronomers keeping an eye on the #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/08/07/amateur-astronomers-keeping-an-eye-on-the-comet

This post is an interview with Padma A. Yanamandra-Fisher, a Senior Research Scientist at the Space Science Institute, USA, and the #rosetta Coordinator of Amateur Observations for 67P/C-G. Q: When did the amateur campaign to observe Rosetta’s comet start? A: The first observations of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by amateur astronomers for this stretch of the comet’s orbit, leading to the 2015 #perihelion, were performed in March 2014. At the time, the comet was very faint and only visible from the southern hemisphere, with a magnitude around 20, just at the limit of detection by small telescopes. In addition, the comet was in a highly dense star field and not always easy to image. From March to November 2014, we received about a dozen or so decent #Images from amateurs located at (...)

#Ground-based_observations ##perihelion2015 #ground-based_observations