The European Space Agency announced that the Rosetta probe, launched in 2004, has reached Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The comet is currently between Jupiter and Mars, 405 million kilometers away from us, on its way to swing around the sun in its elliptical 6.5-year orbit.
“After ten years, five months and four days travelling towards our destination, looping around the Sun five times and clocking up 6.4 billion kilometres, we are delighted to announce finally ‘we are here’,” says Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General.
“Europe’s Rosetta is now the first spacecraft in history to rendezvous with a comet, a major highlight in exploring our origins. Discoveries can start.”
Today saw the last of a series of ten rendezvous manoeuvres that began in May to adjust Rosetta’s speed and trajectory gradually to match those of the comet. If any of these manoeuvres had failed, the mission would have been lost, and the spacecraft would simply have flown by the comet.
The Rosetta mission is slated to spend a year with the comet on its orbit. Meanwhile, Rosetta is sending back amazing pictures of the comet, which may surprise you. Images taken from a distance of 12,000 kilometers show two main spheres connected by a “neck.”
“Our first clear views of the comet have given us plenty to think about,” says Matt Taylor, ESA’s Rosetta project scientist.
“Is this double-lobed structure built from two separate comets that came together in the Solar System’s history, or is it one comet that has eroded dramatically and asymmetrically over time? Rosetta, by design, is in the best place to study one of these unique objects.”
The probe is currently 100 kilometers from the comet, and will go even closer on its mission. See more pictures of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko at the ESA gallery.
(Image credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA)
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I am a big John Lennon fan. He was tremendously talented. At that time, he was also incredibly naive, a nasty drunk and, frankly, a bit of a dick even when sober. Let's not forget that he was barely 31 when this song was released, and a very immature 31 at that - given what had happened to him to that point, that's hardly a surprise.
This is one of the saddest aspects of his assassination just 9 years later. By that time, it seemed like he had broken through at least some of his issues and was just about to hit a new gear - sadly, it is left to us to "Imagine" what might have been...
All this reminds me of the WKRP episode dealing with a religious leader attempting to censor the station's programming. They used this song in it.
One more note - it is funny that performers wish to exclude the "no religion" line. I mean, I see where they are coming from, but considering religion has, throughout history, been a huge source of conflict in the world, it would be totally wrong to exclude it. Good for you, Yoko!
Feeling a sense of negativity and rebellion in the aura Lennon gave off, I thought the balance of McCartney's warmer disposition brought John Lennon more towards the middle.
I liked "Woman" and "Imagine", but "Give Peace a Chance" and "Instant Karma" eluded my tastes. Teenage life was already hard enough... I think I was wanting to have music as an escape from the worries and challenges, more than having to make heavy statements.
Oh............ and somehow I NEVER understood "Yoko Ono" - Period.
Still, a very interesting article Eddie, it helps peek into that mysterious mind of John Lennon that I just never quite adjusted to.