The Rosetta spacecraft chased down the nearly three-mile-long Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet in 2014. It then spent almost two years capturing detailed images of the comet's dust-ridden surface.
The images are publicly available, which allowed Twitter user landru79 to compile a brilliant animation of images shot over a 25-minute period. Taken together, it gives us an idea of what it's like on that rapidly spinning, oddly-shaped ball of dust and ice.
SEE ALSO:Rosetta Spacecraft Now Has Landing Site on Comet"This is the well familiar environment in which Rosetta observed for nearly two years -- lots of dust flying around!" Matt Taylor, a European Space Agency (ESA) project scientist for the Rosetta mission, said over email.
#ROSETTA 😍 OSIRIS #67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO new albums 😍--ROSETTA EXTENSION 2 MTP030-- Miércoles 1 Junio 2016 all filters stacked pic.twitter.com/Bf173Z5g79
— landru79 (@landru79) April 23, 2018
Most of what's shooting around is ancient dust, said Taylor, though some stars can be seen in the background, too. Mark McCaughrean, Senior Advisor for Science and Exploration at the ESA, identified the stars, some of which belong to the well-known constellation Canis Major.
A major reason ESA scientists sent this mission to the spinning comet -- originally conceived in the 1970s and approved in 1993 -- was "to analyze the nature of the dust emitted by the comet," said Taylor.
The orbiter's OSIRIS camera captured a variety of debris as it flew off the comet, ranging from dusty grains to chunks 2 meters (6.5 feet) in size.
Via GiphyThe Rosetta mission, which also involved sending a lander to the comet's surface, improved scientists' understanding of how these ancient comets were born.
Comets are leftover icy grains formed during our solar system's creation some 4.6 billion years -- as opposed to oddly-shaped balls of accumulated rubble created during later collisions.
The dust-ridden surface, then, is a primordial relic of our solar system's beginning.
"Comets really are the treasure-troves of the solar system," Taylor previously said.
(责任编辑：熱點)
Olympic security asks female Iranian fan to drop protest sign
10 things we miss about Netflix's DVD
The New Yorker's Snapchat is mesmerizing
'Overwatch' hero spotlight: How to suck less with RoadhogAirbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana floodingNancy Pelosi warns colleagues after info hacked
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned fellow Democrats on Saturday to change their cellphone num
...[详细]Hollywood pays tribute to Garry Marshall, dead at 81
Garry Marshall, the producer, writer-director and sometimes actor who created Happy Days, Laverne &a
...[详细]Leslie Jones fights back against racist trolls on Twitter
LOS ANGELES -- Don't feed the trolls, says the ancient internet wisdom. Ghostbusters star Leslie Jon
...[详细]'Overwatch' hero spotlight: How to suck less with Roadhog
Want help with a different hero? Click hereto check out our master Overwatch guide, where you'll fin
...[详细]The five guys who climbed Australia's highest mountain, in swimwear
Climbing a freezing cold mountain is already hard enough work. But in briefs? Nope. 。It's too late fo
...[详细]Someone apparently visited their Pokémon
Have some tissues on standby.SEE ALSO:Craigslist missed connections are now basically PokéSto
...[详细]These adorable photos prove that 3
LONDON -- Prince George turned 3 on Friday, and he's cuter than ever, according to new photos releas
...[详细]Usain Bolt now has his own emoji just in time for the Olympics
The 2016 Rio Olympics is two weeks away, and sports brand Puma is backing its ambassador Usain Bolt
...[详细]Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold
Michael Phelps left as he began: Winning. 。The most decorated athlete in Olympic history won gold in
...[详细]Melbourne mural in memoriam of Taylor Swift is brutal AF
If you've happened upon this article purely by chance and with no introduction to what has been dubb
...[详细]One of the most controversial power struggles in media comes to a close
'Pokémon Go' is now available in the UK
