A Cliff Looming on Comet 67P

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2015-05-20 · NASA (public domain)

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A Cliff Looming on Comet 67P — APOD for 2015-05-20

What's that looming behind this gravel-strewn hill on Comet ChuryumovGerasimenko? A jagged cliff. The unusual double-lobed nucleus of Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko lends itself to unusual and dramatic vistas, another of which has been captured by the Rosetta spacecraft that arrived at the comet last September. The featured cometscape , taken last October and digitally enhanced, spans about 850 meters across. Meanwhile, Comet ChuryumovGerasimenko continues to sprout jets as it nears its closest approach to the Sun in August. Along the way, Rosetta will continue listening for signals from Philae , a probe that landed on the nucleus but rebounded to an unknown surface location last November. If newly exposed to sunlight, Philae might regain enough energy to again signal Rosetta. Click Through the Universe: Random APOD Generator

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2015-05-20 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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