{"id":16557,"date":"2015-02-14T20:57:25","date_gmt":"2015-02-14T12:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rosetta-approaches-comet-67p-for-a-closer-look\/"},"modified":"2015-02-14T20:57:25","modified_gmt":"2015-02-14T12:57:25","slug":"rosetta-approaches-comet-67p-for-a-closer-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rosetta-approaches-comet-67p-for-a-closer-look\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosetta approaches comet 67P for a closer look"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A single-frame image of comet 67P\/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta\u2019s navigation camera taken Feb. 9 at a range of 105 km, showing part of the nucleus enveloped in jets of dust and gas. Credit: ESA\/Rosetta\/NAVCAM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rosetta spacecraft neared its comet Saturday, targeting a close flyby within four miles of the tiny world\u2019s jagged nucleus to gain new up-close views of the comet and taste the growing vaporous cloud surrounding it.<\/p>\n

The flyby is a turning point in the mission, expected to yield unrivaled data from closer to the comet than Rosetta has been before. It also signals the start of a new phase of Rosetta\u2019s study of comet 67P\/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where the spacecraft will fly farther from the comet for its passage closest to the sun in August.<\/p>\n

The solar-powered European space probe was expected to be nearest the comet at 1241 GMT (7:41 a.m. EST), passing about 3.7 miles \u2014 6 kilometers \u2014 from 67P\u2019s nucleus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe upcoming close flyby will allow unique scientific observations, providing us with high-resolution measurements of the surface over a range of wavelengths and giving us the opportunity to sample \u2014 taste or sniff \u2014 the very innermost parts of the comet\u2019s atmosphere,\u201d said Matt Taylor, Rosetta\u2019s project scientist at the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n

Rosetta will pass closest to the comet larger lobe \u2014 the body of the comet\u2019s duck-like shape \u2014 with the sun directly behind the spacecraft. The high sun angle should allow Rosetta\u2019s main OSIRIS science camera to tease out new detail on the dust grains clinging to the comet\u2019s nucleus, and other instruments should yield better data on the comet\u2019s make-up.<\/p>\n

The flyby will go over one of the comet\u2019s most active regions, where scientists have observed jets of dust and gas streaming away from the nucleus. Rosetta\u2019s science team hopes to measure the material during the flyby, and see how it flows from the comet\u2019s surface to form an atmosphere, or coma, of gas surrounding the nucleus.<\/p>\n

The first images of the flyby from Rosetta\u2019s navigation camera are expected by Monday. Sharper views from the OSIRIS camera should be released within about two weeks, according to a blog post on ESA\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Scientists expect to see an uptick in activity from comet 67P in the next few months as it heads for perihelion \u2014 or the closest point to the sun in its orbit \u2014 on Aug. 13.<\/p>\n

\"Plumes
Plumes of dust and gas appear around comet 67P\u2019s nucleus in this Feb. 3 view from a distance of 28.7 km from the comet\u2019s center. Credit: ESA\/Rosetta\/NAVCAM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the main science phase of the mission now, so throughout the year we\u2019ll be continuing with high-resolution mapping of the comet,\u201d Taylor said in an ESA press release. \u201cWe\u2019ll sample the gas, dust and plasma from a range of distances as the comet\u2019s activity increases and then subsides again later in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosetta arrived at the comet in August 2014, then dropped the Philae lander to the nucleus Nov. 12. Philae bounced across the comet at least twice \u2014 and may have hit the surface a third time \u2014 before coming to a stop lodged against a vertical face of rock and ice.<\/p>\n

Philae ran out of power two days later after completing its initial science campaign, and officials are hopeful the landing craft will reboot later this year as it gets more sunlight when the comet nears perihelion.<\/p>\n

In the last few months, Rosetta flew in a series of \u201cbound\u201d closed orbits around comet 67P. The probe was consistently near the comet, giving scientists a chance to visually search for Philae\u2019s resting position with Rosetta\u2019s OSIRIS camera.<\/p>\n

Officials believe they have narrowed Philae\u2019s location to within about a football field on 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) diameter comet.<\/p>\n

The hunt turned up a few candidate sites, but no confirmed result.<\/p>\n

With comet 67P expected to put out more plumes of dust and gas later this year, Rosetta\u2019s ground team decided to alter the spacecraft\u2019s path around the comet to take it farther from the nucleus as a safety measure, with a series of targeted close-in flybys beginning with Saturday\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

An illustration of Rosetta\u2019s intricate trajectory over the next month is posted below.<\/p>\n