PIA17484: 3-D Models of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Nucleus
NASA's Hubble measured the size, shape and rotational period of the Rosetta mission's backup target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G).
 Target Name:  Comet
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Hubble Space Telescope 
 Product Size:  2400 x 1918 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  NASA/ESA 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA17484.tif (4.609 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA17484.jpg (103 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Hubble measured the size, shape and rotational period of the Rosetta mission's backup target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G). The telescope's observations from March 2003 revealed that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) is approximately five-by-three kilometres, and shaped like a rugby ball on which it is possible to land. ESA Mission scientists were concerned about the exact size of the solid nucleus, which is needed to adapt the mission to the comet's gravity.

Image Credit:
NASA/ESA/Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, Philippe Lamy

Image Addition Date:
2003-09-05