* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Rosetta mission

Blobrana · L

Son of Rosetta

Blobrana · L

RE: Rosetta mission

Blobrana · L

A European probe hunting down a distant comet has beamed back the first images of its Tuesday swing by the planet Earth.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft flew past Earth for the second time at about 3:57 p.m. EST to nab a speed boost for the 4.4-billion-mile trek to the comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

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Blobrana · L

Graham land, Antarctica

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Images taken right after Rosetta`s second Earth swing-by last night are now available. The comet chaser`s navigation camera (NAVCAM) took pictures of regions in the Antarctic and snapshots of Earth and the Moon.
The NAVCAM is one of the subsystems on the Rosetta orbiter used for optical navigation. The pictures were all taken immediately after Rosetta`s closest approach to Earth, between 21:55 CET on 13 November and 00:10 on 14 November while Rosetta was flying at heights of between 5500 to 6250 km from Earths surface.

Rosetta`s view of the Moon

Earth as seen by Rosetta

The Moon, taken on 14 November, 00:10 CET.

Earth, taken on 13 November at 22:56 CET.

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Blobrana · L

Fly-by is confirmed.

Blobrana · L

RE: Rosetta mission

Blobrana · L

The file link gives the position of the Rosetta spacecraft in the sky, in the so-called celestial coordinates (Right Ascension and Declination) which allows finding Rosetta's position between the stars.

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When approaching the Earth, Rosetta is a small light point, ca. 18 magnitude in brightness, in the constellation Lynx, north of Cancer, visible from the complete planet except Antarctica.

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Blobrana · L

ESAs comet chaser, Rosetta, is on its way to its second close encounter with Earth on 13 November. The spacecrafts operators are leaving no stones unturned to make sure Earths gravity gives it the exact boost it needs en route to its destination.
This months Earth swing-by is Rosettas third major step on its 10-year journey to 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The trajectory correction manoeuvre successfully performed last month prepared ESAs Comet Chaser for the upcoming encounter. The spacecraft is now right on track to gain the right amount of energy from Earths gravity and save fuel later on.
Closest approach will take place on 13 November 2007 at 21:57 CET, at which time Rosetta will speed past at 45 000 km/h (about 12.5 km/s) relative to Earth. At this time, Rosetta will be 5301km above the Pacific Ocean, south-west of Chile, at 63° 46 South and 74° 35 West.

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"We have a target trajectory for Earth swing-by and regular orbit determinations allow us to decide when to do a correction manoeuvre. Brief burns now allow us to optimise the orbit and make the swing-by more accurate, saving us a lot of precious fuel later on" - Andrea Accommazzo, Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager at ESOC.

Blobrana · L

Yesterday, 18 October at 18:06 CEST, the thrusters of ESAs comet chaser, Rosetta, were fired in a planned, 42-second trajectory correction manoeuvre designed to 'fine tune' the spacecraft's approach to Earth. Rosetta is now approaching Earth for its second planetary swing-by of 2007.
After passing Mars in April 2007, Rosetta is now approaching Earth for the second time - the third of four planetary swing-bys that provide fuel-saving gravitational assists enabling the spacecraft to ultimately reach and cross the orbit of comet 64P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.
Rosetta's closest approach is predicted for 21:57 CET at a height of 5301 km over the Pacific Ocean and a speed of 45 000 km/h relative to the Earth. The third and last Earth swing-by will take place in November 2009.

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