Rosetta images comet 67 P/C-G emissions; Landing sites under study

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft circling Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is sending lots of great pictures of the odd duck-shaped object: CometWatch – 2 September – Rosetta Blog

In the two lower images shown below, you can see the faint traces of dust and water vapor emissions, signs that the comets tail is starting to form as the comet moves closer to the sun. Bob King at Universe today has combined the images and heightened the contrast in a way to enhance the “jets” : New Mosaic Reveals Jets Blasting from Rosetta’s Comet – Universe Today

Jets or sprays of vaporizing ice are what gives a comet its lively appearance. Dust released with water vapor is ultimately pushed back by the pressure of sunlight to grow 67P/C-G’s dust tail. Ultraviolet light from the sun causes volatiles within the vapor to fluoresce a pale blue, creating a second ion or gas tail. The coma or comet atmosphere is a mix of both.

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Rosseta is also carrying a separate spacecraft called Philae that will land onto the comet. Where it will land is still not settled:

Several candidate spots are being studied:

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Using detailed information collected by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft during its first
two weeks at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, five locations have been
identified as candidate sites to set down the Philae lander in November –
the first time a landing on a comet has ever been attempted.