COBS News archive

Seasonal forecasts for 67P/C-G
February 10, 2015
Based on the press release of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Germany. Scientists from Rosetta’s OSIRIS team have been analysing the images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and comparing them to a thermal model to estimate how much material the various parts of the comet will lose through Sun-driven sublimation during one orbit. That is, as the Sun heats the comet, ices sublimate and the resulting gases drag dust into the comet’s coma.

Last waltz at 28 km – CometWatch 3 February
February 10, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 28.7 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 3 February. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.5 km across. The mosaic has been slightly cropped, and it measures 4.2 x 4.6 km.

Anuket vs. Anubis – CometWatch 31 January
February 10, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 28.0 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 31 January. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.4 km across. The mosaic has been slightly cropped, and it measures 4.6 x 4.3 km.

More change in Hapi? – CometWatch 22 January
February 03, 2015
Today’s CometWatch mosaic comprises images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera (NAVCAM) on 22 January, from a distance of 28.0 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.4 km across. The mosaic measures 4 x 4 km.

Where is Philae? When will it wake up?
February 02, 2015
These are the two most popular questions currently being asked of the mission – especially on our social media channels – and ones that we will try to answer in this post, including inputs from the OSIRIS team, and from the Lander Control Centre at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

CometWatch – 21 January
January 29, 2015
Today’s CometWatch mosaic comprises images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera (NAVCAM) on 21 January, from a distance of 27.9 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.4 km across. The mosaic is slightly cropped and measures 4.2 x 4 km.

COSIMA watches comet shed its dusty coat
January 29, 2015
Early results from Rosetta's COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser (COSIMA) are published today in the journal Nature. The study covers August to October, when the comet moved along its orbit between about 535 million kilometres to 450 million kilometres from the Sun, and when Rosetta was orbiting the comet at distances of 30 km or less.

Hello Hatmehit – CometWatch 18 January
January 28, 2015
Today’s CometWatch mosaic comprises images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera (NAVCAM) on 18 January, from a distance of 28.4 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.5 km across. The mosaic is slightly cropped and measures 3.7 x 4.0 km.

Extremely dark, dry and rich in organics: VIRTIS view of 67P/C-G
January 26, 2015
Based on the press release of the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy covering the results of the VIRTIS instrument – the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer on Rosetta – that were published last night in the journal Science. The results are based on data collected by VIRTIS between August and December 2014.

Comet ‘pouring’ more water into space
January 26, 2015
Based on the NASA-JPL press release reporting the results of Rosetta’s MIRO instrument, NASA’s Microwave Instrument on the Rosetta Orbiter and with additional inputs from the MIRO team.

Watching the birth of a comet magnetosphere
January 23, 2015
Based on the press release of the Swedish Institute of Space Physics summarising the results of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium’s (RPC) Ion Composition Analyser (ICA) that are presented in the journal Science today, and on follow-up discussion with Hans Nilsson, RPC-ICA principal investigator.

GIADA’s dust measurements: 3.7-3.4 AU
January 23, 2015
Based on inputs from GIADA team members Alessandra Rotundi (instrument PI) and Marco Fulle, following the publication of “Dust Measurements in the Coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Inbound to the Sun Between 3.7 and 3.4 AU” in the journal Science today. GIADA is Rosetta’s Grain Impact Analyzer and Dust Accumulator. Our published research so far focuses on two aspects of the dust around Comet 67P/C-G: the different populations of dust grain found either in bound orbits or out-flowing from the nucleus, and the dust-to-gas ratio in the coma.

Comet’s coma composition varies significantly over time
January 22, 2015
This entry is based on the Southwest Research Institute’s press release and covers the results of the ROSINA instrument – the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis – that were published today in the journal Science. Scientists working on the ROSINA instrument have discovered that Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s atmosphere, or coma, is much less homogenous than expected and that comet outgassing varies significantly over time.

CometWatch 16 January
January 21, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 28.4 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 16 January. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.5 km across. The mosaic is slightly cropped and rotated, and measures 4.5 x 4.2 km.

CometWatch 12 January
January 20, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 27.9 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 January. The image resolution is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.4 km across. The mosaic is slightly cropped and measures 4.4 x 3.9 km.

Fine structure in the comet’s jets
January 20, 2015
In the first OSIRIS image release of 2015, the team provides an unprecedented look at the finer details of 67P/C-G’s dust jets.

CometWatch – 8 January
January 15, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 27.5 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 8 January. The image resolution at this distance is about 2.3 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure about 2.4 km across. The mosaic measures 4.3 x 3.9 km.

CometWatch – 6 January
January 14, 2015
This four-image montage comprises images taken from a distance of 27.9 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 6 January. The image resolution at this distance is 2.3 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure about 2.4 km across.

CometWatch – 3 January
January 13, 2015
This four-image mosaic comprises images taken from a distance of 28.4 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 3 January. The image resolution at this distance is 2.4 m/pixel and the individual 1024 x 1024 frames measure 2.5 km across. The mosaic is slightly cropped and rotated and measures about 4.4 x 4.2 km.

Rosetta in 2015
January 08, 2015
Before the Christmas break we left you with a bounty of comet images to create a movie – if you took on the challenge, do post links to your videos on the relevant post: CometWatch – the movie. We are looking forward to seeing your mosaics and movies!