Close view of a 228 × 228 m region on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera during Rosetta’s flyby at 12:39 UT on 14 February 2015. The image was taken six kilometres above the comet’s surface, and the image resolution is just 11 cm/pixel. Rosetta’s fuzzy shadow, measuring approximately 20 × 50 metres, is seen at the bottom of the image.

Highest-res image

Shown here in context with Navigation Camera images (top left, top right and bottom right; see image for scale information).

The Rosetta image is pure monochrome. I have yet to see any true colour images of comet 67P.

While on the topic of extreme close-ups, you may enjoy this dust devil on the surface of Mars recently captured by the HiRISE camera on the MRO.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150303.html

More from Rosetta, the latest comet activity images have just been released. By the way, it’s still 161 days to perihelion, so activity is sure to increase.

The following is an older image showing that the source of the expelled gas and dust is a pit.

Needs some sense of scale.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

Needs some sense of scale.

Bit late now to run up there and offer them a ruler.

roughbarked said:

Carmen_Sandiego said:

Needs some sense of scale.

Bit late now to run up there and offer them a ruler.

228m/228m would need a bloody big coin to provide comparison. A ruler wouldn’t do it.

Postpocelipse said:

roughbarked said:

Carmen_Sandiego said:

Needs some sense of scale.

Bit late now to run up there and offer them a ruler.

228m/228m would need a bloody big coin to provide comparison. A ruler wouldn’t do it.

Where’s your imagination this morning? Lose it in the middle of the night?

roughbarked said:

Postpocelipse said:

roughbarked said:

Bit late now to run up there and offer them a ruler.

228m/228m would need a bloody big coin to provide comparison. A ruler wouldn’t do it.

Where’s your imagination this morning? Lose it in the middle of the night?

I see Xander in approximately 54 hours. I’m apprehensive and trying to prepare myself for the shock of having to absorb how much he will have grown in a year. After just 2 months I was shocked at how much I had to re-recognise him. Saturday is going to be a bit disorienting.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

Needs some sense of scale.

The scale is given by the shadow of the Rosetta spacecraft.

mollwollfumble said:

More from Rosetta, the latest comet activity images have just been released. By the way, it’s still 161 days to perihelion, so activity is sure to increase.

I like these images.

Impressive mathematics to send an unmanned craft to track, photograph and land on a moving comet!

Aquila said:

mollwollfumble said:

More from Rosetta, the latest comet activity images have just been released. By the way, it’s still 161 days to perihelion, so activity is sure to increase.

I like these images.

Impressive mathematics to send an unmanned craft to track, photograph and land on a moving comet!

Yes indeed.

Aquila said:

Impressive mathematics to send an unmanned craft to track, photograph and land on a moving comet!

Landing on an irregular shaped spinning object I’d agree with you. But tracking and photographing only involves solving very simple equations – a conic section for the comet orbit is not difficult mathematics. The equations for the spacecraft trajectory are just conservation of mass and conservation momentum, not all that hard for point-like objects, I’ve solved these equations before. Small corrections are needed, but they only require minor adjustments.

mollwollfumble said:

Aquila said:

Impressive mathematics to send an unmanned craft to track, photograph and land on a moving comet!

Landing on an irregular shaped spinning object I’d agree with you. But tracking and photographing only involves solving very simple equations – a conic section for the comet orbit is not difficult mathematics. The equations for the spacecraft trajectory are just conservation of mass and conservation momentum, not all that hard for point-like objects, I’ve solved these equations before. Small corrections are needed, but they only require minor adjustments.

Simple for some….

)

I imagine that air resistance isn’t considered in the equations, as outer space is essentially a vacuum, but what about gravitational forces from the Earth, Moon and Sun, et al?

Gravity is very mysterious to me…

they can all be taken into account when they matter. that is one reason in flight course corrections are necessary.

Postpocelipse said:

roughbarked said:

Carmen_Sandiego said:

Needs some sense of scale.

Bit late now to run up there and offer them a ruler.

228m/228m would need a bloody big coin to provide comparison. A ruler wouldn’t do it.

iphone 6+ ?

Aquila said:

mollwollfumble said:

Aquila said:

Impressive mathematics to send an unmanned craft to track, photograph and land on a moving comet!

Landing on an irregular shaped spinning object I’d agree with you. But tracking and photographing only involves solving very simple equations – a conic section for the comet orbit is not difficult mathematics. The equations for the spacecraft trajectory are just conservation of mass and conservation momentum, not all that hard for point-like objects, I’ve solved these equations before. Small corrections are needed, but they only require minor adjustments.

Simple for some….

)

I imagine that air resistance isn’t considered in the equations, as outer space is essentially a vacuum, but what about gravitational forces from the Earth, Moon and Sun, et al?

Gravity is very mysterious to me…

Gravity sucks.