With yesterday’s announcement that Philae is ‘go’ for Site J, and the presentation of the new primary landing site mosaic, we can provide here the two images that make up the mosaic.
The Site J images were taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera, 17 minutes apart on 14 September, from a distance of about 30 km. The image scale is 0.5 metres/pixel and the images each cover about one square kilometre. (Click to download the full resolution versions).
In addition, and as part of the formal landing site analysis, similar images were also provided of the region containing backup site C; these are also presented below. The Site C images were acquired 31 minutes apart on 12 September, also from a distance of about 30 km and with an image scale of 0.5 metres/pixel.
Perhaps some of you can use these images to create mosaics or stereo images of the primary and backup landing sites. Please post links to any images that you create as a result of this post in the comments box below, taking note of the full credit line for OSIRIS images: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA.
We look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Site J (a)
Site J (b)
Site C (a)
Site C (b)
Discussion: 72 comments
OK, Emily, fine done. Maybe you send us these four images realising that the stitching of yesterday mosaic of site J was poor (specially at the lower right angle where many features are doubled), but still the last image of the backup site C is incomplete. When you follow the link,, only the top of OSIRIS image is available, and there is no link Under it to download a better resolution, like the three precedent images. Can you change that, please? Many thanks for these images, even when realising that they are a month old… Good job. Go on !
Thanks for those comments, Gullich. I just checked each of the four images (two for J, two for C), and all seemed to download fine for me in full 2048 x 2048 pixel resolution. Maybe a temporary bug? We were having problems with the blog earlier today.
On the issue of the mosaic, to be clear, we made that here, so no responsibility lies with with OSIRIS team, who delivered us the four individual files.
But you’re right: something funny is going on in that small region around the lower right angle, with some features doubled. But it doesn’t seem too widespread: I haven’t been able to spot any other regions with issues. We’ll try and fix that part.
Keep in mind though, the two OSIRIS images were taken at different times and there are some slight differences between them, as you’ll see when you look at the originals. So mosaic will be perfect. The aim of it was just to maximise the region covered in order to cover as much of possible of the landing circle; again, the individual images are the “gold standard” here.
Why not on some rocky and flat area instead of this suspicious one?
Yep, bearing in mind they are aiming at the centre of the region shown that is where all the jagged cliffs are in site J.
Does any one have any idea what the structure is at top middle Site C(b)?
Looks like a lot of rolling stock in a siding but all tilted over as if they have come off the tracks.
I am not a geologist is there anything like this on earth, it looks like 4 pieces of horozontally extruded section. Or has it been extruded upwards.
May be a builder has just left his materials behind.
Esado you have any ideas on this you must have a closer picture.
Just think of the awesome view across the neck if you were standing on top of that train wreck. (Site Cb) An almost vertical cliff stretching over a kilometre straight up and curving out back over your head at the top.
Hi Dave. Just a handful of pixels. Please imagine a big roll of cardboard. The same post boxes are made of. Now ‘look’ at it from the side. Lots and lots of ‘holes’. Think the ‘rolling stock’ is falling though. Emily commented some ‘spires’ and I saw a ‘needle’; which quite probably are extrusions. Noting bigger than that. Someone else commented of ‘snow corks’.
Now on zooming I’m sure of your signaling. At pixels 910,521 and 879,595. Don’t see Bob. Still work to be done. 😉 . Secondary ‘marble’ like ‘rock-ices’ up an right of there. Pixels 1021,400 1056,408 and 967,516.
Near Bob’s material; at pixels 1105,447 and 1242,434 there are some triangular cuttings in the dust ‘carpeting’. From some other picture I saw they follow the geometry of underlying structures.
Well, ‘mineshafts’ on the cheap. Come on, Bob. 😉
This may be a repeat my replys dont seem to be going through.
Crikey, what on 67p are those structures at top middle of Site C (b)?
It looks like a load of rolling stock has come off the rails in a siding.
Also looks like a horozontal extrusion, of something.
Mayby its a vertical extrusion.
Or has Bob the builder just left his unwanted material on site.
Is there a Geologist ok there who can help?
Esa if you have some closer pictures of it please send, or if you know what it is please let us know.
regards
Everything that gets old seems to have wrinkles like an old plum.
Thanks Dave, I wondered where I had left those drainage pipes. LOL
Win a trip to @esa #67P landing event by suggesting name for @philae2014 landing site! https://t.co/JI9S641mkV #NameJ https://t.co/0214ROc5IQ
This is for all who are interested and can participate.
Well, I cannot !!
‘El Dorado’.
Whatever you say it in Egyptian.
😉
Ups! Forgot MY gold ingot at upper right of
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_a/14972808-1-eng-GB/Philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_a.jpg
Pixel 1509,174
Hello Emily,
first, congratulations to all Rosetta team members for this spectacular mission.
Here is a non scientific perspective:
https://keralenn.com/2014/10/rosetta
Lets call it “Rosetta in blue” !
All the best.
Dave, it’s a collection of electrical machining facilities left behind by the time-travelling descendants of The Great Alfvèn. If you look real hard, you can see the wires…
https://imgur.com/omcSKxg
Here is an animation of the backup landing site using the two images captured 30 minutes apart:
https://imgur.com/omcSKxg
I’m sure you can come up with better 3D versions.
Here’s my attempt at primary landing site anaglyph:
https://imgur.com/YXb3fvQ
A virtual Bouquet of Roses and high fives for all the Rosetta team. The Selfie is ‘out of this world’ cool, the orbit diagrams are dizzyingly fascinating, and the drama and anticipation is excruciating. A great example of European cooperation, hi-tech know-how, and public communication skills. Bravo
Hello Emily, hello rosetta-Team !
One question :
Can we see after the landing of philae , panorama-pictures from the surface of P67 , photographed by the lander?
Yes, that’d be very great !
Hi Birgit, Yes (that’s the plan anyway!) Once safely on the surface, Philae will take a panorama of its surroundings, which is expected back on Earth several hours later.
This view of Site C looks quite benign, lots of flat looking areas, no greater number of large “boulders” than Site J. The large, darker grey circular feature bottom left, is in fact the “Star Wars II landing platform” seen in earlier pictures.
https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/09/Comet_on_21_September_NavCam
As can be seen in this image taken from the other direction, looking from the neck, That flat area is perched on a huge cliff with giant cliffs at the Site C landing zone side. It helps to rotate the September 21st image by 180 degrees to give a similar orientation. In fact there are huge elevation changes almost totally surrounding the site. Fine if you could hit a 200m diameter circle, but it looks a whole lot more risky than Site J.
Yes there are slopes and cliffs at Site J but they are fairly shallow and low compared to those around site C, some of which must be well over 100m straight down. If you did land somewhere flat there would be next to nothing of interest to see in Philae’s panorama view.
All four of these images are full OSIRIS images, which is great. The resolution is actually better than the Cheops image. The nature of the terrain in the flat “prairies” can be seen quite clearly only with a moderate zoom. Low bumps and rollers, little dimples and pimples none of which are more than a metre or so high with very shallow slopes. What is amazing is the completely even coating of the surface “regolith”, whatever that might be, deposited ejecta, coma fallout or sublimation residue. Still impossible to estimate how deep or soft/solid it is though. Whatever it is, is very fine grained to define the contours of the “ground” beneath, so clearly.
The other stand out feature, particularly in the Site J image, are the number of lines of little vents or pits. A closer inspection of these suggest these are the cause of many of the cliff collapses we see. In Site C image b, there is a clear example of this process. The “train wreck” feature is actually an undulating plain ending in a cliff. At the lefthand end, a large crack can be seen where the edge of the cliff is about to collapse. Further along to the right can be seen rows of little vents/pits just starting to make another fracture. On the face of the cliff can be seen vertical furrows and fissures where the tunnels for these vents worked their way up through the body of the formation. This formation I think is the result of molten comet stuff flowing over the surface. Certainly the compact and solid nature of the “Tors” close by to the right, indicates an “igneous” morphology to the formation.
Around Site J, the small cliffs nearby show steps or layering. This layering is perhaps the result of serial “lava” flows. More examples of Logan’s “heating ducts” can be seen. These I think are the remains of old “lava tubes”, where the “hot” liquid flowing in them has consolidated and degassed the walls of the tube. Subsequent “erosion” has left the harder, more compact tubes behind. Towards the bottom left of the image, holes where these buried tubes emerge can also be seen. There are examples of this morphology in many areas on the right side of the mosaic image.
I am no geologist, but this looks amazingly like a volcanic landscape to me. Why and how, I shall leave to others to speculate. A large amount of heat/energy has been at work here, its origin, the ESA science guys can figure out. I doubt the sun could provide enough energy that’s for sure.
What you are of course implying Robin is that it is made of good old basalt rock. No role for ice except as thin surface frost patches. Basalt is an igneous rock which forms in extreme heat, such as would exist in a powerful arc discharge, as Rob is also suggesting above.
Hi John. I deliberately avoided stating what the comet material is and was careful to put all terms that apply to earthly volcanos in quotes. Rock as we know it on Earth is just a frozen, crystalline solid. On the comet that frozen crystalline solid, we are told, is most likely to be largely made of volatile ices such as Carbon Oxides, Ammonia, Water and Methanol. Exactly the same processes we see on Earth can therefore occur on the comet, only the material involved is different. The physics and geology are analogous. May I suggest you look up “Cryovolcano” on Wiki.
In deference to the opinions of others and with as yet no conclusive information about the nature of the comet material, I have tried to keep to a description of the processes I think may have occurred. Whether you believe 67P is made of Rock or Ice, those processes are possible for both materials under appropriate conditions. Personally, given the density, the one corroborating piece of information we have been given, I believe that 67P is made largely of Ice and dust, but I also feel that one piece of circumstantial evidence is not sufficient to totally rule out other possibilities.
Hi Robin. Left this far in time. Please check:
https://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/10/10/cometwatch-checks-up-on-cheops/?replytocom=92774#respond
John, if you are not going to be surprised by initial info, then quite a lot of us are going to. 🙂
No doubt there is some basalt here and there. Accreted or impacted.
Truly reserving a space on my mind for your model.
I personally hope that we will be able to get an audio file of some comet-quakes altered to an ear catching spectrum. It after all is a first time ever that microphones ar landed on a comet and this one for sure has an internal activity going on. Images is such a small part of the overall information gathered and all the other experiments are of interest as well. For a broad audience af few of the experiments are hard to enjoy but some audio will for sure get their attention, will it quack?
Thank’s Emily,
Great !!!!
Our “two in one mosaic”:
https://flic.kr/p/pGdM9p
While this blog was misbehaving 2 more OSIRIS images may have slipped past people’s notice as there were no blog posts about them. These images were taken with the wide field camera on 12/9/2014 from 29Km and are of the whole comet.
Image A contains the Philae landing site and a view of the backup site, from a different angle. Image B has an unusual view of the neck region, unfortunately not of an area we have not seen before. The higher resolution of the OSIRIS means that zooming in on these images still reveals significant surface details.
https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/10/Comet_on_12_September_a
https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/10/Comet_on_12_September_b
Maybe some more data for your shape model Mattias.
Found my biggest ‘triangle’ there:
vertex pixels:
660,1228
1044,1542
673,1878
Craters aligned like ‘marbles’.
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/comet_on_12_september_a/14978256-1-eng-GB/Comet_on_12_September_a.jpg
Thats about all for ‘pile of ruble’ theories. Every ‘crater’. (No, they’re not) have a ‘chimney’, 5 of them aligned and regularly separated. all at the same o’clock point of the crater.
Geysers?
Why would it be same o’clock? Random event? Single event? Caused by nucleus structure or rotation? Sounds interesting… Where will I see the best ‘opaque transparency’?
Evangelizing nobody. Just saying 67P present too much regularities. At least too much to my mind. That talks of much higher regularity at a closer level. Talks of crystalline as a rule. Talks of very low energy levels on accretion. Talks of long long times, etc.
‘Craters’ not hexagonal. They fill surface as octagon+square.
Said the rules has to be simple.
But not THAT simple!
??? 🙂
No more comments on this until additional corroboratory photos added.
Comet_on_12_September_b.jpg is harder to look at, but enhancing brightness and contrast could easily see. Photo B corroborate photo A. Now I see why the team didn’t want to show a high resolution 3D. This object preserves some ‘faceting’. Polyhedral like.
If most of the comet tubular (and aligned), then I could accept the far possibility of ‘polarization’ 😉
On full faith to this pair of photos: Craters are just the extreme faces of long polyhedral.
Bob the builder your so forgetful.
Rob,
If time traveling alfven descendants have been here, then maybe Birklands descendants have also stayed and left some used Birkland currents (electric ropes?)
Or even Thor uses it as a store for thunderbolts, look out phillae
Another ‘pyramid’ at bottom right of 30km_b.
That ‘straight’ lines talks about ‘rock-ices’.
Area seems dust clear. Dust probably removed by sublimation trawling.
Pixel 1940,1894 of
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_b/14972546-1-eng-GB/Philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_b.jpg
OK, please take a look at dust clear area at top right of 30km_a.
Also seem cleaned by sublimation trawling, but the interesting point is the ‘cloud’ of dust just up there. The dust is so faint you can see through it down to the surface, which follows the patterns of lower clean area.
Pixel 1393,111 of
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_a/14972808-1-eng-GB/Philae_s_primary_landing_site_from_30_km_a.jpg
The ‘stereoscopic’ weakness: Now invert your mind and you’ll see a depression. That’s why 3D is so important.
‘Knowing’ gravity here, I assign more probability to a cloud.
No doubt in the pico bar reading. But There are sublimating zones. Not all of the dust is set in motion at jets.
Think these dust ‘clouds’ give ‘rivers’ their ‘dunes’; not gravity re-capture.
Rivers of misty dust 😉
Gravity re-capture of dust should leave clearly spin oriented dunes.
Hi Logan. This hazy transparency can be seen in lots of places, mainly “above” the flatter surfaces of bright “rocks” and “boulders”. It reminds me of “Heat Haze” on a hot summer day. I thought it might just be wishful thinking on my part, but independent confirmation makes me more confident. Mark M. did say there were some image issues, I wonder if these are what he meant.
Are there some name for “rocks”, “stones”, “pebbles”, “lava” and “boulders” made of ice? It would make it a lot easier to talk about surface features and objects, both on 67P and other bodies like Titan. Perhaps ESA should organise another competition to come up with some.
Cryorocks.
Crebbles.
etc.
Taking this as a hypothesis brings consistency an simplicity to what we see in a lot of photos. Especially considering the very low occurrence of surface liquids.
It looks like something is sweeping the surface/dust layer back away from the edge of the cliff. There is no big pile of dust at the bottom of the cliff so it has not just fallen off the edge. There do appear to be little black vents/pits all along that cliff with significantly one or two at the points of the furthest inroads into the dust.
So your suggestion is the plumes, aided by the rotation of the comet, are lifting the dust and depositing it further back from the cliff edge. The alignment of the cliff must be in the same direction as the spin. The underlying terrain appears to have ridges going left to right, but there are clear signs of deeper dust ridges almost at right angles to that going in general top to bottom, parallel to the spin of the comet. All the long dust ridges are aligned basically in the same direction across the whole of the image.
I think you have something there Logan. Worryingly for Philae it suggests there are “dust drifts” that are significantly deeper than other areas of the “plains”.
Don’t forget insider have the full spectra. Including IR.
Some universities are working in something known as ‘pseudo-flowing’ where gases envelope (one or two atoms) very very small particles and flow from one particle to another; as if electric charges were.
Some images from the 10Km orbit might have enough resolution to make out these “clouds/jets” more clearly. Once I knew what to look for from the biggest ones, I found several more. As they are mainly gas, it is only really the difference in refractivity of the gases to the surrounding vacuum, changing the path of the light reflected off the surface, that could be seen in the images. The gases would thus look similar to a mirage or heat haze. Given the correct viewing angle and phase angle the illusion of shiny liquid might be seen at the base of larger gas emissions.
Robin. Could you please dare to give a gas/dust mass radio. Generally speaking, of comet’s ejecta? Higher than 96?
Mirage. That could be some extremely bright and ‘mirror’ areas.
One of the best examples it is easy to direct to is a very bright “boulder” in the bottom right corner of this image.
https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/10/Philae_s_backup_landing_site_from_30_km_b
At 9 O’Clock round to 12 O’Clock above it the surface and “rocks” are smooth and their edges sharp with very little evidence of the pixels making up the image. Between 12 O’Clock and 3 O’Clock the background becomes fuzzy and a lot more pixilated. These large blocks of pixels are the clue to look for. The plume is moving so the light/brightness value changes during the six second exposure. Each pixel can only give an average value, rather than a single absolute value. Adjacent pixels will give similar average values giving the impression of bigger pixels and blur a bit of the image with sharper, jagged boundaries.
This is not evident on every bright surface, I am still not totally convinced it is not an effect of stretching the contrast. It can be seen on non bright surfaces as well though. On the right edge of the image just below the edge of the comet is a rubble field. On the right bottom edge is a light grey ledge where the effect can be seen against the detailed background. There could be as many as four. These appear slightly more misty, the surface appears to be covered in more dust.
I use a Mac and my Safari browser allows me to zoom in 6 times plus the zoom on clicking the downloaded image. I have no idea what the total magnification is. On these OSIRIS images though it is still impossible to see single pixels at this magnification, though some stepping can be seen on black/bright boundaries. I am pretty sure this haziness is real, but to definitely say they are outgassing plumes would be difficult to argue.
As to the gas/dust ratio, if hey are plumes, it does seem to vary a bit, whether this down to lighting, viewing angle or amount of dust, it is difficult to say. I think around 5% dust would be the maximum, as there are no definitely visible shadows, probably less.
“…as there are no definitely visible shadows, probably less.”
So, misty, dusty gas is shadow-less”
67P loves ‘Noughts and Crosses’ Game…
Pixel 853,1326 of
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/philae_s_backup_landing_site_from_30_km_a/14972844-1-eng-GB/Philae_s_backup_landing_site_from_30_km_a.jpg
It certainly does. 🙂
Loose dust cought in the act of flowing.
In the Backup Landing site 30_km_a there is this big crater slightly to left of center Site C (a).
Just below it a ‘flowing praire’ patch is boot recieving and delivering loose dust.
EXPECTED to see weaving and distortions in the ‘drawings’. Nowadays, DRAWINGS STAY LINEAL.
???
Strong ‘hazing’ around.
Location:
flow at pixels 657,1141 & 691,1217
hazing at pixel 720,1274
https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/10/philae_s_backup_landing_site_from_30_km_a/14972844-1-eng-GB/Philae_s_backup_landing_site_from_30_km_a.jpg
That last one Logan. Do you think that plume is coming out of that little “mud volcano” type structure? It looks like a narrow, short dusty jet within the larger gas plume.
Around that “boot” it looks like the sublimation flow from the exposed “boulder”, has excavated a depression around itself by “blowing” the dust away. The fresher lighter dust can be seen deposited in the bottom of the darker “crater” next to it.
Yeap! sublimation ‘trawling’ is more of a ‘dust jumping’ process. For now… 🙂
This is ‘deep’ fluid. (By fluid we are including extra cold ‘repting’ gases). Coming from the deepest part of ‘crater’ deposit. Maybe.
If the “drawings” are created by deposition of dust within gas plumes, which I am fairly convinced by your explanation, they are, with nothing to blow them off course as it were, they would remain linear, parallel to the direction of the comets rotation. That rotation direction you would think, with such an irregular shaped body, vary over time, creating broader bands and allow features like the big “X” at the landing site.
😉
Please don’t take me so seriously. Not even me do that. Deliberately delaying self judgment. Not the moment.
Happy to see everybody’s ideas.
Where is Thomas?