CANADA: The Rosetta spacecraft has recorded a “selfie” of its own shadow, projected on the surface of Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67/P). The shadow was the result of the Sun being directly behind the spacecraft when the image was recorded of the icy body.
The Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System (Osiris) was used to record the photograph, which was exposed on February 14, 2014. When the photograph was taken of the comet and Rosetta’s shadow, the vehicle was just over 3.6 miles above the surface of the comet. This low altitude allowed for a resolution of slightly over four inches per pixel. Just three days later, the cometary orbiter had traveled to 158 miles away from the icy body. The surface of the comet was examined again, on February 28, from 69 miles away from 67/P.
“An image with this arrangement of the light source and camera really reveals the differences in brightness on the comet’s surface. As there are no shadows, this difference must be due to the scattering of the light by the dust particles across the comet’s surface,” Ekkehard Kührt, from the German Aerospace Center, said.
By studying light and dark regions in the photograph, it is possible to determine the size of dust particles, despite the fact they are far too small to be resolved by the camera.
The fissure seen in the image was nearly directly below the spacecraft when the picture was taken. Because of the alignment, it is almost impossible to tell how far under the surface the crack extends
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
