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Credit & Copyright: ESA,
Rosetta,
MPS, OSIRIS;
UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA -
GIF Animation: Jacint Roger Perez
Explanation:
You
couldn't really be caught in this blizzard while standing
by a cliff on Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
also known as comet 67P.
Orbiting the comet in June of 2016 the Rosetta spacecraft's narrow
angle camera did record streaks of dust and ice particles though,
as they drifted across the field of view near the camera
and above the comet's surface.
Still, some of the
bright specks in the scene are likely due to a rain
of energetic charged particles or
cosmic rays hitting the camera,
and the dense background of
stars
in the direction of the constellation Canis Major.
Click on this single frame to play and the background stars are easy to
spot as they trail from top to bottom in an
animated
gif (7.7MB).
The 33 frames of the time compressed animation span about 25 minutes
of real time.
The stunning gif was constructed from
consecutive images taken while Rosetta
cruised some 13 kilometers from the comet's nucleus.
GIF Animation: Jacint Roger Perez
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring
- Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks
- The Snows of Churyumov Gerasimenko