This week’s CometWatch image was taken with Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 9 July 2016, when the spacecraft was 11.7 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Enhanced NAVCAM image of Comet 67P/C-G taken on 9 July 2016, 11.7 km from the nucleus. The scale is 1 m/pixel and the image measures about 1 km. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
This close-up view shows a portion of the Khonsu region on the larger of the two comet lobes. Khonsu is part of the southern hemisphere of 67P/C-G.
The image reveals a variety of fractured and smooth terrains, with a great number of boulders of all sizes, including several large ones. It also includes a three-layered structure with a balancing boulder on top, which was also portrayed in previous images, for example the NAVCAM view featured as CometWatch 13 June, which shows the same region but from a broader perspective.
Meanwhile, a view of Comet 67P/C-G from Rosetta’s OSIRIS wide-angle camera was published on the OSIRIS Image of the Day website earlier this week.
OSIRIS wide-angle camera image taken on 4 July 2016, when Rosetta was 13.3 km from Comet 67P/C-G. The scale is 1.28 m/pixel and the image measures 2.6 km. To preserve the correct orientation of the comet, the image has been flipped horizontally with respect to the one originally published on the OSIRIS Image of the Day website. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The image, taken on 4 July from a distance of 13.3 km, shows a large portion of the large comet lobe, highlighting the circular features of the Seth and Ash regions and with hints of the complex terrains of Atum towards the right.
In the top left part of the frame, on the comet’s neck, the dust covered landscape of Hapi is portrayed just below the slopes of the rougher Anuket region, while the cliffs of Hathor are cast in shadow on the left.
A similar and somewhat complementing view, also taken with the OSIRIS wide-angle camera but on 11 July, some 15 km from the nucleus, was published earlier today.
OSIRIS wide-angle camera image taken on 11 July 2016, when Rosetta was 14.9 km from Comet 67P/C-G. The scale is 1.38 m/pixel and the image measures 2.8 km. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
On the small lobe, in the top part of the image, are portions of Serqet (left) and Ma’at (right), while on the large lobe, in the lower left part of the frame, are views of Seth and Ash. In the central part of the image, the regions on and close to the neck – Hapi, Hathor and Anuket – are cast in dark shadows.
Another view, taken with the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on 10 July from a distance of 9.5 km, provides a detailed view of a different portion of the large comet lobe, with sights of the Khepry and Aker regions.
OSIRIS narrow-angle camera image taken on 10 July 2016, when Rosetta was 9.5 km from Comet 67P/C-G. The scale is 0.31 m/pixel and the image measures about 630 m. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The original NAVCAM image is provided below.
Discussion: 11 comments
Witnessing the seasons passing, what was penumbra at arrival is now sunny land.
How beautifully the polyhedral geometry of 67P is suggested at this OSIRIS shot:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/07/Comet_on_11_July_2016_OSIRIS_wide-angle_camera
Also of note at this shot is the strongly different optical-reflectance of the two lobes. Even more notable after-perihelion. Interesting will be any plausible explanation.
The simplest being that after each sunburn, Small Lobe gets more profoundly depleted that Big Lobe.
That balancing boulder is really amazing. How and when did it got there? And why there and not in a hole? This is amazing.
It has ‘grown’ there [/speculation].
Please, please, please… and I think I ask this on behalf of many here. Could you finally, please give us the absolutely best , newest, closest Osiris shots of Philae’s resting place?
No lectures needed on why we cannot see Philae from some of my friends. There are deeper reasons at play as well, so kindly just post the photos anyway!
Many heartfelt thanks in advance!
Hi Ramcomet,
I don’t think it would do much good. There would barely be a leg visible, and very small windows of opportunity for the lighting to shine on the metal with Rosetta overhead.
https://marcoparigi.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/i-know-what-happened-to-philae.html
Erosion at Imhotep? lower land ‘flamingo nests’ show delicate framings which made it through perihelion.
Pixels 1514,1652 & 1953,1398 of
https://planetgate.mps.mpg.de:8114/Image_of_the_Day/public/OSIRIS_IofD_2016-07-21.html
Hi Logan
Interesting but I don’t know where to look because I don’t have pixel location tools.
Hi Cooper. The zone was discussed at length during the EU chats. They’re the dark, salty low lands immediately to the right of Imhotep’ plains, at the previously linked -beautiful- OSIRIS shot.
Erosion of a few nests’ convex top surfaces suggest of a highly detailed patterning of their own -contrasting the regular texture of adjacent terrain. Being so exposed highly doubt of ices, thinking of salt crystallizations.
On relation to ‘collapsing’ exospheres:
“This confirms that Io’s atmosphere is in a constant state of collapse and repair, and shows that a large fraction of the atmosphere is supported by sublimation of SO2 ice,” said John Spencer, an SwRI scientist who also participated in the study. ”
https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JE005025
via https://phys.org/news/2016-08-space-scientists-io-atmospheric-collapse.html