Just as it was perfectly backlit by the sun, the Rosetta spacecraft snapped a picture of Comet 67P. The European Space Agency (ESA)'s probe was a few hundred kilometers "downstream" of the vapor and dust given off by the icy comet, allowing it to capture the amazing image and give it a better view of its coma and tail.
"Thanks to the combination of a long, four-second exposure, no attenuation filter and a low-gain setting on the analogue signal processor of NAVCAM (a setting that is used to image bright targets), the image reveals the bright environment of the comet, displaying beautiful outflows of activity streaming away from the nucleus in various directions," the ESA said.
Rosetta is now making its way back closer to Comet 67P, and as of right now, it is less than 600 kilometers away, although it plans to get even closer.
The spacecraft is set to move past the icy object on April 9 at an altitude of just 30 kilometers - not as much as the 12 kilometers seen in the new image, but still impressive.
Rosetta arrived at Comet 67P back in August 2014, and it delivered the Philae robot onto its surface just a few months later. Its closest approach to the sun occurred in August of last year while inside the orbit or Mars.
Despite its efforts, reduced solar power and its positioning near the sun are making communications with Rosetta increasingly difficult. However, the ESA plans on gaining as much information on Comet 67P as possible before the spacecraft's final moments - an impact with the surface of the comet sometime in September, after the agency obtains all of the scientific data that they need.
"The upcoming months of Rosetta operations will see a renewed focus on close proximity to the comet as its activity continues to drop, as well as investigations of previously uncharted territories at larger distances around the comet, including the tail region," the ESA said.
The research team isn't expecting the Rosetta to survive the impact, and even if it does, communication will be almost impossible, as its antenna needs to be aimed at the Earth in order for this to happen. Its collision with Comet 67P will likely be its last blaze of glory before scientists use its data to continue uncovering the mysteries of comets.
