• 2016 American Election
  • 2016-2017 Trump transition
  • 2017-2021 Trump Presidency
  • about this site
  • AUTUMN IMAGES
  • BIGFOOT/SASQUATCH
  • books of note
  • cinemagic
  • commonplace book
  • cooking for poor poets
  • creepy sci-tech
  • depression
  • Dispatches
  • fictions by S.A. Bort
  • films of note
  • Four Blood Moons
  • FREE JUSTINA !
  • Future Shock
  • global chessboard
  • gratitudes
  • homes and destinations
  • honors of heart, mind and courage from the great OZ
  • let’s dance!
  • liberte!
  • living cheaply with style
  • love & marriage
  • Parkinson Disease Journal
  • people of note
  • po’try by s.a.bort (and others)
  • Readings
  • Scalia cover up?
  • self-improvement
  • songs of note
  • SPRING IMAGES
  • Summer Images
  • TAYLOR CALDWELL
  • TEXAS!
  • the sixties
  • watch your language!
  • WINTER IMAGES
  • word therapy
  • words of note
  • zen of writing

when is a party not a party ?

~ when you're not invited

when is a party not a party ?

Category Archives: Off On A Comet (1877)

Jules Verne’s “Off On A Comet”–Close enough!

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by essaybee2012 in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, comets, Darmstadt, Germany, European Space Agency, Gautam Naik, Jules Verne, Off On A Comet (1877), Philae, Rosetta Mission, space exploration, Wall Street Journal

≈ Leave a comment

WALL STREET JOURNAL
http://online.wsj.com/articles/comet-probe-successfully-separates-from-rosetta-1415784838?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories
Environment & Science

Rosetta Mission’s Probe Lands on Comet

European Space Agency’s Philae Is First Craft to Land on Comet in Historic Moment for Space Exploration

Scientists are nearing the crucial moment when the Rosetta space probe attempts to land on a comet.  Gautam Naik explains how this will be done. Photo: ESA
By

Gautam Naik

Updated Nov. 12, 2014 11:09 a.m. ET

DARMSTADT, Germany—A robotic probe has become the first craft to land on a comet, a historic moment for space exploration and one that offers the promise of fresh insights into what comets are made of and how they behave.

Rocket scientists at the European Space Agency’s mission control here erupted in cheers as they received the first signal that the Rosetta mission’s probe, called Philae, had touched down on the forbidding landscape of a small comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Rosetta’s lander, Philae, took this parting shot of its mothership shortly after separation.
Rosetta’s lander, Philae, took this parting shot of its mothership shortly after separation. ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA

It is still not clear where exactly the probe has landed or if it was damaged.  Philae, which is about the size of a small fridge, was aimed for a relatively flat elliptical landing area about 550 yards in diameter, away from deep crevices, large boulders and sharp peaks.

If it landed intact, Philae is expected to quickly snap a few photographs and beam them back to Earth—in the first images ever taken from the surface of a comet.  (It takes nearly half an hour for a signal from the comet to reach earth.)

The comet has extremely low gravity.  To prevent the probe from bouncing back into space, it carries a pair of harpoons designed to fire immediately and fix the probe to the ground.  A thruster on the top was simultaneously expected to push the probe downward to help in the anchoring, but scientists discovered overnight that the thruster couldn’t be activated and that the harpoons would have to do the job alone.

Made of ancient ice, dust and other materials, comets are objects of scientific curiosity because they have survived virtually intact from the earliest days of the solar system, more than 4.6 billion years ago.

Because comets carry water and organic molecules, scientists also hope that the Rosetta mission will provide insights into whether comets could have brought water to Earth and possibly kick-started life here.

After a decadelong trek through the solar system, the spacecraft Rosetta made a rendezvous with the comet in August.

More

  • Webcast: Live From ESA Mission Control
  • Video: A Decade of the Rosetta Mission in 90 Seconds
  • Seven Questions With Rosetta Project Scientist Matt Taylor
  • Video: William Shatner Wishes Rosetta Good Luck
  • Scientists Gear Up for Bid to Land Probe on Comet (Nov. 11, 2014)
  • The Numbers: How Probes Get ‘Gravity Assists’ (Aug. 29, 2014)
  • Rosetta Mission Reaches Comet (Aug. 11, 2014)

Corrections & Amplifications

Confirmation of the Rosetta probe’s successful touchdown on the comet is expected in a one-hour window around 1602 GMT (11:02 a.m. ET).  An earlier version of this article and a headline incorrectly said confirmation is expected around 1702 GMT (12:02 ET).  (Nov. 12, 2014)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

RECEIVE INSTANT NOTIFICATIONS OF NEW POSTS

Join 81 other followers

What’s being read now

  • Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock:" The 800th Lifetime
  • No Wind Blows in Favor of a Ship Without Direction?
  • My Travels: 2. Ruins of Megiddo, Ruins of Mortal Power
  • Color Wheel: a poem

From newest to earliest

  • The Twelve Days Of Epstein
  • Something Touched Me Deep Inside
  • The last day of Spring / Ten photos
  • Doing the math
  • What five books would you preserve (in case of digital erasure)?

Previous by year

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

Blog Stats

  • 76,006 hits

Blogroll

  • Abe Books
  • AMAC/Association of Mature American Citizens
  • AXS-TV
  • Carter, Sara/Investigative Reporter
  • Catholic Herald
  • diGenova, Joe & Victoria Toensing/Op-Eds
  • Dylan, Bob
  • Film Noir Foundation
  • Gatestone Institute
  • Hanson, Victor Davis/Writer
  • Hemingway, Mollie/The Federalist
  • Hillsdale College/Free online courses
  • Hoover Institution
  • Imprimis/Hillsdale College free periodical
  • Judicial Watch/Tom Fitton
  • KLVZ 810 AM Pop Classics in HD
  • Levin, Mark/Commentator, writer
  • Middle East Forum
  • NeilMed Sinus Rinse
  • Old Farmer's Almanac – Since 1792
  • Premiere Collectibles/signed, just-published books
  • RADIOHEAD
  • Solomon, John/The Hill
  • Souls of Animals
  • Strassel, Kimberley/Wall Street Journal
  • Tea Party
  • Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Database
  • Uncle Sam Cereal – Since 1908
  • Walking Dead
  • Whatfinger
  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 81 other followers

LIKE on FACEBOOK

LIKE on FACEBOOK

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: