APOD: 2023 November 26 Á A Dust Jet from the Surface of Comet 67P
Explanation:
Where do comet tails come from?
There are no obvious places on the
nuclei
of comets from which the
jets that create
comet tails emanate.
In 2016, though, ESA's
Rosetta spacecraft not only imaged a
jet emerging from
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but flew right through it.
Featured is a telling picture showing a
bright plume emerging from a small circular dip bounded on one side by a 10-meter
high wall.
Analyses of Rosetta data show that the jet was composed of both dust and water-ice.
The rugged but otherwise unremarkable terrain indicates that
something likely happened far under the porous surface to create the plume.
This image
was taken about two months before
Rosetta's mission ended
with a controlled impact onto Comet 67P's surface.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 June 4 Á Comet Pons Brooks Develops Opposing Tails
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring
- Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks