Fed2 Star - the newsletter for the space trading game Federation 2

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by ibgames

EARTHDATE: October 4, 2015

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REAL LIFE NEWS: COMET 67P HAS WEATHER, AND IS ACTUALLY TWO ROCKS GLUED TOGETHER

by Hazed

As if the Martian water and the Pluto pictures are not exciting enough, we’ve also got some more information from Rosetta about the comet 67P which it has been orbiting. The latest surprise from the duck-shaped rock is that it has weather.

The small weather cycle is driven by its intense day-night cycle. An ice patch on the surface of the comet has been observed growing when the rock is in darkness, then sublimating into a cloud of water vapour when the sun rises to produce a cloud, which then vanishes into space when night falls. The ice patch is then replenished from below, through fissures which grow during the day.

But that’s not the only new discovery from Rosetta. It now emerges that its strange, duck-like shape is caused by the fact it is really two bodies stuck together. High-res pictures taken between August 2014 and March 2015 have now been examined and they clearly show that the comet is two bodies joined together. You can see the images at the second source link below.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/scientists-discover-weather-on-rosettas-comet-1732848251
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/28/mystery_of_rosetta_solved/

Plus, here’s a bonus video showing just how slowly the Philae lander descended to the surface of the comet.

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