COBS News archive

CometWatch 1 October
October 09, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry is an image from Rosetta’s NAVCAM taken on 1 October 2015, at a distance of 1323 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Comet Feature Named After Late NASA Scientist Claudia Alexander
October 04, 2015
Scientists from the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission are honoring their deceased colleague, Claudia Alexander of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, by naming a feature after her on the mission's target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

CometWatch 30 September – Far, far away
October 04, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry is an image taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 30 September 2015, about 1488 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image was taken a few hours after the spacecraft had reached the farthest point – 1500 km from the nucleus – on its far excursion to study the coma and plasma environment of 67P/C-G on a broader scale.

Rosetta’s mass spectrometer ROSINA detected argon at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko
October 03, 2015
The mass spectrometer ROSINA on ESA’s comet probe Rosetta has for the first time detected the noble gas argon in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This measurement adds to the debate about the role of comets in delivering various "ingredients," such as water, to Earth.

Rosetta’s first peek at the comet’s south pole
October 02, 2015
Using the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO), scientists have studied the comets southern polar regions at the end of their long winter season. The data suggest that these dark, cold regions host ice within the first few tens of centimetres below the surface in much larger amounts than elsewhere on the comet.

An update on Comet 67P/C-G’s water-ice cycle
October 01, 2015
Last week we reported on the daily water-ice cycle of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that was observed in a specific region of the comet’s neck by Rosetta’s VIRTIS instrument, in September 2014.

Cometwatch 21 September
September 28, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry was taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 21 September 2015, about 330 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Comet surface changes before Rosetta’s eyes
September 28, 2015
Since arriving at Comet 67P/C-G in August 2014, Rosetta has been witnessing an increase in the activity of the comet, warmed by the ever-closer Sun. A general increase in the outflow of gas and dust has been punctuated by the emergence of jets and dramatic rapid outbursts in the weeks around perihelion, the closest point to the Sun on the comet’s orbit, which occurred on 13 August 2015.

CometWatch 11 September
September 25, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry was taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 11 September 2015, about 319 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

New Comet: P/2015 Q2 (PIMENTEL)
September 25, 2015
CBET nr. 4140, issued on 2015, September 02, announces the discovery of a comet (magnitude ~18.5) by Eduardo Pimentel on Aug. 24.2 UT with a 0.45-m f/2.9 reflector of the SONEAR Observatory at Oliveira. Follow-up observations to confirm the object were obtained by C. Jacques, E. Pimentel, and J. Barros with the same telescope on Aug. 27.3 and31.3. The new comet has been designated P/2015 Q2 (PIMENTEL).

CometWatch 5 September
September 15, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry was taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 5 September 2015, about 445 km from the nucleus.

CometWatch 30 August
September 15, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry was taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 30 August 2015, about 404 km from the nucleus.

Comet hitchhiker would take tour of small bodies
September 07, 2015
Catching a ride from one solar system body to another isn't easy. You have to figure out how to land your spacecraft safely and then get it on its way to the next destination. The landing part is especially tricky for asteroids and comets, which have low gravitational pull.

Comet impacts may have led to life on Earth -- and perhaps elsewhere
September 07, 2015
Comet impact on Earth are synonymous with great extinctions, but now research presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Prague shows that early comet impact would have become a driving force to cause substantial synthesis of peptides -- the first building blocks of life. This may have implications for the genesis of life on other worlds.

CometWatch 26 August
September 07, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry is an image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 26 August 2015, about 415 km from the nucleus.

CometWatch 22 August 2015
September 07, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry, featuring a dramatic outburst from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, was taken by Rosetta’s NAVCAM on 22 August 2015, about 336 km from the nucleus.

CometWatch 16 August
September 07, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry was taken three days after the perihelion of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, on 16 August 2015. At the time, Rosetta was 331 km from the comet, which in turn was just over 186 million km from the Sun and almost 265 million km from Earth. This single frame NAVCAM image has a resolution of 28.2 m/pixel and it measures 28.9 km across.

Rosetta’s big day in the Sun
August 17, 2015
ESA’s Rosetta today witnessed Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko making its closest approach to the Sun. The exact moment of perihelion occurred at 02:03 GMT this morning when the comet came within 186 million km of the Sun.

Comet’s firework display ahead of perihelion
August 17, 2015
In the approach to perihelion over the past few weeks, Rosetta has been witnessing growing activity from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with one dramatic outburst event proving so powerful that it even pushed away the incoming solar wind.

CometWatch 6 August
August 15, 2015
Today's CometWatch entry is an image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken on 6 August 2015, exactly a year to the day of Rosetta's historic rendezvous. The image was taken 261 km from the comet centre.