Updates Rosetta Mission News

[MaverickSawyer]

Oh snap. That's a real game changer...


Also, anyone else here read Arthur C. Clarke's "Hammer of God"?

 

[Unstung]

I found an animation of the comet, clearly illustrating its rotation and three dimensional shape:

Also, an estimation of the comet's characteristics:

Taking a very rough estimation of the dimensions of the twin nucleus as 4 x 3.5 x 2 km for the larger and a 2.6 km diameter for the smaller object and treating them as two co-orbiting point masses with the measured 12.76 hour rotation period I get a minimum bulk density of around 150kg per cubic meter needed to hold it all together as a contact binary… Very crude admittedly but at least it gives a ball park indication of the density of these objects which looks to be very low. As the spacecraft continues its approach and the image resolution continues to improve we will hopefully get to hear ever more precise estimates of some of the physical properties over the next few days and weeks.

 

[Topper]

I think this one has a bit higher quality:

Do you think that those two boddys collided in the oort cloud before 67P fall down to the sun and becomes a comet?
Because I think the chances are very low, that the comet was hit in the inner solar system by another body with that size without that both boddies beeing destroied comletely. (Because of the high dV between a comet and an object of the inner solar system). However, 67P looks very strange and I don't have a good explaination ...

 

[Unstung]

I think this one has a bit higher quality:

Do you think that those two boddys collided in the oort cloud before 67P fall down to the sun and becomes a comet?
Because I think the chances are very low, that the comet was hit in the inner solar system by another body with that size without that both boddies beeing destroied comletely. (Because of the high dV between a comet and an object of the inner solar system). However, 67P looks very strange and I don't have a good explaination ...

That image is from the official release and not accidentally leaked. Many space enthusiasts have issues with ESA withholding data for public release.

I suspect Rosetta will be able to determine the origin of 67P, and we won't have long to wait.

 

[Unstung]

 

[Topper]

Closer and closer...

 

[Urwumpe]

Kwak!

Is that [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russels_Teapot"]Russel's[/ame] rubber duckie?

 

[Unstung]

Closer still:

The above image was taken by OSIRIS on 29 July. ESA is a few days behind on releasing OSIRIS images but NavCam images are released daily:

And the coma:

Not to forget:

 

[Urwumpe]

Could you jump onto a comet?

And new images of the comet by Rosetta:

http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/08/04/cometwatch-3-august/

Looks more strange than ever before now.

 

[boogabooga]

Between this and 216 Kleopatra, I enjoy the dogbone shape in minor planets. :thumbup:

 

[RGClark]

Could you jump onto a comet?

And new images of the comet by Rosetta:

http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/08/04/cometwatch-3-august/

Looks more strange than ever before now.

Here's to a successful orbit insertion scheduled for Wednesday!

Bob Clark

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

There's a orbit insertion media event today at ESA - check out http://rosetta.esa.int/ starting from 08:00 UTC.

 

[IronRain]

Live coverage is underway!

http://rosetta.esa.int/

 

[Notebook]

Event has started.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Aw... politics... Of course Germany had been heavily involved in Rosetta, but she should make this short, when Rosetta launched, she wasn't even in office.

 

[Notebook]

Not very exciting so far, nice joke about the US not being part of the EU, yet...

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Not very exciting so far, nice joke about the US not being part of the EU, yet...

N.

Well, it was rather NASA not yet being member of ESA... but yeah. :thumbup::lol:

Finally, they are switching over to the people who are doing the actual work. :rofl:

 

[Notebook]

Confirmation the manoeuvre has started.

N.

 

[Fabri91]

Aw... politics... Of course Germany had been heavily involved in Rosetta, but she should make this short, when Rosetta launched, she wasn't even in office.

Heh, you should have seen a conference about Rosetta at my uni in May.
National participation tends to get a bit exaggerated, with many of the other contributions not really mentioned (Philae lander example).

Of course it's all right to be proud of one's contribution, but it's an international project, dammit.

 

[Notebook]

Rendezvous confirmed.

Nice quote

10 years in the car to get to scientific Disneyland