The dark side of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

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Image: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

This unusual view of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from Rosetta shows the darker side of the comet.

It is a montage of four different images taken by the probe’s navigation camera on 2 November. The comet’s larger lobe is in the top centre and the smaller lobe, where Philae will land on 12 November, is at lower right. It was taken at a distance of 33.4 km from the centre of the comet. Much of this side of the comet was in darkness at the time.


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Inside the magazine

You can read more about the planned landing of Philae in the November issue of Astronomy Now. Never miss an issue by subscribing to the UK’s longest running astronomy magazine.