Wednesday 10 September 2014

Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet





Here is a Rosetta ‘selfie’ with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in
background. It was taken by the CIVA camera – short for Comet Infrared
and Visible Analyser – onboard the Philae Lander. This is the same
camera that will be acquiring images from the surface of the comet
itself, when the Philae lander sets down on the comet in November.


Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was 50 kilometers / 31 miles away at the time of this image.


Two frames were taken and merged due to the high contrast.




Rosetta isn’t the first otherworldly object to get in on the earthly trend of selfies. NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover caught one, too, earlier this year.



Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet | Science Wire | EarthSky