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For the first time, scientists have spotted large patches of water ice on the surface of a comet , thanks to instruments aboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta orbiter. Scientists already knew that the coma - the expansive cloud of gas surrounding the comet's nucleus - is dominated by water molecules. They also knew that water ice is one of the main components of the nucleus. But until now, traces of water ice on the surface of the comet had been difficult to detect.
Last edited by Mona - Astronomy; 01/14/16 06:56 AM.
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If you look closely, you can see a heart-shaped boulder on the surface of Comet Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It's Valentine greetings from the Rosetta Mission team.
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Last week ground control made the decision not to send any more commands to the lander Philae, which has been silent since July 2015. The comet is moving farther from the Sun, so not only is there less sunlight to charge the batteries, but Philae's solar panels are likely to have acquired a coating of dust by now. In addition, temperatures drop to -180 degrees Celsius, which is too cold for the lander to function in any case. Although Philae's landing didn't go as it should have, the lander but still completed “about 80% of its initial planned scientific activities,†according to ESA. Rosetta will still listen for communications, even though it's stopped sending new signals. Here is a cute animation summarizing the Rosetta mission.
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One of the two discoverer's of Rosetta's comet was the Ukrainian astronomer Svetlana I. Gerasimenko. She was born on February 23, 1945. The co-discoverer was fellow Ukrainian Klim Churyumov, director of the Kiev Planetarium. So if you'ever wondered how Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko got its name, now you know!
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Rosetta is moving in closer to Comet 67P/c-G again. This NAVCAM image was taken on March 1, 2016, from 26.7 km away. In the image you see part of the large comet lobe, where the Imhotep region alopes down towards Bes. A jet of activity is clearly seen coming from the lower left edge. Image Credits: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
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A unique view of Comet ‪#‎67P‬/Churyumov-Gerasimenko seen by the Rosetta Mission on 10 April from the weekend's flyby at a distance of 30 km. The comet is seen here with the big lobe in front and with Rosetta positioned almost exactly between sun and comet. This unique observing geometry reveals optical characteristics of the surface that cannot be seen otherwise.
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Rosetta has found ingredients for life in the dusty halo around Comet C-G. They are the chemical elements glycine and phosphorus. Glycine is the simplest amino acid and one of the molecules needed to make proteins, while phosphorus is a key component of DNA and cell membranes. It shows that comets could have brought organic molecules to the young Earth, key building blocks for life.
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We haven't heard much about Rosetta lately, but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. Here is a video update from ESA about Rosetta. We learn that the spacecraft has been doing some low flying and there are plans to get her even closer to the surface before the mission ends in a few months. The water found on Comet C-G isn't like water on Earth. Other comets might have brought water to Earth, but not this type of comet. However scientists have found glycine, an amino acid one of the building blocks of life. Very interesting.
Last edited by Mona - Astronomy; 07/12/16 04:04 AM.
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The Rosetta mission has less than three months to go now. It is to end on September 30th with a controlled descent to the comet's surface. Rosetta has been in space for 12 years now, with two of them in the dusty environment of a comet. The craft has stood up well to all of this, but wouldn't be likely to survive the dark and cold of the most distant part of the orbit of Comet C-G. Rosetta relies on solar power and it's unlikely that there would be enough of it to keep the instruments from freezing. Where will Rosetta be on September 30? The red line shows a section of the comet's orbit. As you can see, it's heading towards Jupiter's orbit.
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Yay! It's the cartoon version of Rosetta's second year on the comet. For kids of all ages, this little summary was released earlier this month.
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