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：娛樂)
Visualizing July's astounding global temperature records
China may ban Bitcoin trading, but the market doesn't seem to care
Apple's new Apple TV 4K is built to fuel its Hollywood ambitions
Here's the name of that underwhelming new Crayola crayonUber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enoughNew Zealand designer's photo series celebrates the elegance of aging
Not only is age nothin’ but a number -- it can be a asset when it comes to style.。 That’
...[详细]Denny's craptastic new mascot has inspired some pretty good poop jokes
Denny’s is best known for their signature Grand Slam breakfasts, but that may have just change
...[详细]Apple iOS 11 leak reveals iPhone's new Face ID set
The epic leak of the Golden Master version of iOS 11 on Saturday continues to deliver surprises, and
...[详细]Rami Malek channels Freddie Mercury playing 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' Brian May approves
Queen fans, get ready for a crazy little thing to love.Rami Malek, who plays the late Freddie Mercur
...[详细]Teacher absolutely nails it with new homework policy
The war against homework has begun.
。A massive pile of homework after a long day at school is enough
...[详细]Tropical Storm Irma's surge floods Jacksonville and Charleston
Hurricane Irma, which was reclassified as a tropical storm early Monday, saved some of its worst sto
...[详细]Kickstarter addict reflects on backing $16,000 worth of board games, regrets everything
Over the past two-and-a-half years, Reddit user Ranker2 has spent more than $16,000 backing more tha
...[详细]Will the U.S. help Mexico after a massive earthquake killed dozens?
In the short time between the immense flooding in Texas wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the destruct
...[详细]This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
LONDON -- We are living through the golden age of celebrity relationships. Gone are the days of tort
...[详细]The Cassini spacecraft will crash into Saturn to save its moons
There is poetry in the fact that when the Cassini spacecraft burns up in Saturn's atmosphere on Frid
...[详细]This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
Apple's macOS High Sierra will launch on Sept. 25
