Rosetta has completed its first close flyby of the comet, coming as near as 6km from the surface, revealing unprecedented detail. There have also been more images of the increasing activity, which seems to be centred on the big “bite” separating the two lobes. For giant versions of sme of the snaps below, click the links under the pics.
For giant versions of sme of the snaps below = For giant versions of the snaps below
Don’t know what happened there :)
Giant snaps of you would be interesting too :p
Divine Angel said:
Giant snaps of you would be interesting too :p
Might get me banned from the internets.
I particularly like the last one in this series – very evocative light effects, with the interaction of dust and shadow.
When you say “Snaps”, is this thing only taking “stills” from time to time or is there a constant video stream?
Still images.
Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera instrument
The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) is the main imaging system of the Rosetta mission. It consists of two cameras, one narrow-angle and one wide-angle. The narrow-angle camera (NAC) is intended for high-resolution mapping of the nucleus of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, while the wide-angle camera (WAC) is optimized for mapping the gas and dust in space in the vicinity of the comet. When it is at the comet, OSIRIS NAC will be able to capture photos with resolutions as high as two centimeters per pixel! To capture images in a wide variety of ranges, the NAC has focusing plates that enable it to do both far-focus (2 km to infinity) and near-focus (1 to 2 km) imaging.
http://www.planetary.org/explore/resource-library/data/rosetta-osiris.html
Today is just chockers with awesomeness.
Thanks, Bubbles.
Is it set to take pictures at specific intervals or at the direction of those monitoring it?
Carmen_Sandiego said:
Today is just chockers with awesomeness.
Thanks, Bubbles.
what’s up emo duck?
furious said:
- Still images
Is it set to take pictures at specific intervals or at the direction of those monitoring it?
It’s controlled from Earth, but I imagine they have to order it to take snaps at certain intervals during each manoeuvre, because of the time lag.
Is Rosetta pre-programmed or are commands sent from the ground?
Rosetta is operated from the ground. It was impossible to programme manoeuvres for the whole mission before the launch because this would have entailed adjustments at each stage of the journey. Ground commands are sent periodically to readjust the spacecraft’s trajectory. These take up to 50 minutes to reach the spacecraft, when it is farthest from the Earth.
How does the spacecraft deal with this long time lag?
To compensate for the delay, Rosetta is provided with built-in intelligence to look after itself. This is done by its on-board computers, whose tasks include data management and attitude and orbit control. In the event of problems during the lengthy cruise, experts added backup systems to ensure that the spacecraft could remain operational during critical mission phases. For example, to avoid losing power, the spacecraft automatically positions itself with the solar panels facing the Sun.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions
Bubblecar said:
Looks like a rough-hewn ET.
I particularly like the last one in this series – very evocative light effects, with the interaction of dust and shadow.
Bubblecar said:
Rosetta has completed its first close flyby of the comet, coming as near as 6km from the surface, revealing unprecedented detail. There have also been more images of the increasing activity, which seems to be centred on the big “bite” separating the two lobes. For giant versions of sme of the snaps below, click the links under the pics.
Yes, spectacular, startling. Saw this a few days ago.
Look out for two other sets of recent space images:
Mystery plumes reaching 200 km up into the atmosphere of Mars.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mystery_Mars_plume_baffles_scientists
New noise removal algorithm gives great improvement in the Cassini images of Titan.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/cassinifeatures/feature20150211/
Oops, I see you’ve already posted the Mars plumes.
This is awesome, watching the outgassing crank up
