New data from Rosetta shows that electrons play a role in the creation of cometary atmospheres.
Song for a Comet
So we’ve sent a spacecraft into space, put it in orbit near a comet, landed on it with a smaller probe, and listened to the comet’s song. What an amazingly human thing to do.
Night of the Comet
The Rosetta spacecraft has successfully moved into orbit around 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We’ve been getting images of the comet as Rosetta approached, but now that it’s in orbit we are getting high resolution images such as the one above. You’ll notice the comet really looks like an asteroid, with what seems to be a rocky/dusty surface. That’s because comets and asteroids aren’t as different as often portrayed.
3 2 1 Contact
The Rosetta spacecraft is on its way to an asteroid known as 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. In August it will go into orbit around the asteroid, and then in November it will put a lander known as Philae on the rock. The surface gravity of this asteroid is less than 1/20 that of Earth, so Philae will actually have harpoons to keep it attached to the asteroid. It’s an ambitious mission, since unlike many landings we have no idea what the surface of the asteroid will be like. In fact until recently, we weren’t entirely sure what the shape of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko actually is.