News – Page 216 – Astronomy Now

Comet lander leaves mothership, exchanges farewell images

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s comet-bound Philae probe released from its Rosetta orbiter mothership Wednesday, snapping photos of the spacecraft that ferried the lander on a ten-year journey from Earth to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Video: Mission control celebrates separation but anxiety builds over landing

12 November 2014 Astronomy Now

Paolo Ferri, ESA’s Head of Mission Operations, expresses relief at the apparently successful release of Philae from the Rosetta mothership but the potential loss of a crucial touchdown system has caused increased anxiety about the landing.

Comet landing timeline

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Philae spacecraft is set to go for landing on a comet, a never-before-tried maneuver that includes a perilous seven-hour descent and an uncontrolled touchdown.

Comet landing is a “go” despite thruster problem

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

A potential problem with a rocket thruster designed to keep the Philae lander from bouncing off comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after touchdown Wednesday will make the probe’s daring descent even more challenging, officials said.

Unprecedented cosmic choreography essential to landing on comet

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

When a European landing probe goes for a daring touchdown on a comet Wednesday, officials say it would help to have a little luck on their side.

Rosetta mission live coverage

11 November 2014 Astronomy Now

Live coverage from the European Space Operations Centre as the Philae lander races to complete its science mission before its battery power runs out.

Comet lander powered up after electronics glitch

11 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Philae lander — still latched inside its mothership — has been activated and should be ready for release Wednesday to begin a daring first-ever descent to a comet, the mission’s flight director said Tuesday.

Active main-belt asteroid 62412 (2000 SY178) develops a tail

11 November 2014 Ade Ashford

Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo of Carnegie’s Gemini Observatory present recent observations revealing that main-belt Hygeia-family asteroid 62412 (2000 SY178) has a tail.

All is ready for historic comet landing

11 November 2014 Stephen Clark

This week marks the pinnacle of the professional careers of many scientists, when the European Space Agency plans to put down a three-legged robotic lander on a comet, a risky first-of-a-kind endeavor that could rewrite textbooks on the history of the solar system.

Cassini sounds the depths of Kraken Mare, Titan’s largest sea

10 November 2014 Ade Ashford

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft provides scientists with further radar and spectoscopic data during its 21st August 2014 flyby of Saturn’s largest moon, revealing depths of Kraken Mare, Titan’s largest liquid methane sea, and further evidence of transient islands.