New batch of Rosetta images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Lots more images have been released by the ESA Rosetta team: NAVCAM image bonanza: close orbits and comet landing –  Rosetta/ESA’s comet chaser

The 1776 images cover the period between 23 September and 21 November 2014, corresponding to Rosetta’s close study of the comet down to distances of just 10 km from the comet centre – 8 km from the surface – and the images taken during and immediately following the landing of Philae on the comet.

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The Hatmehit region on the small lobe of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by Rosetta’s navigation camera around the time of Philae’s first touchdown, flight over the comet and final touchdown at 15:35, 16:35 and 17:35 GMT (onboard spacecraft time) on 12 November 2014. The distance between the spacecraft and comet centre over this period was between 17.4 and 17.8 km; apparent changes in the image scale are due to projection effects as the comet rotated underneath the spacecraft. The first landing site can be found in the first image, in the bottom left corner of the frame. The images have been contrast enhanced.

The images are part of today’s NavCam data release: NAVCAM image bonanza: close orbits and comet landing

This animation shows the trajectory of the probe during this period: