Spectacular photos capture Rosetta space probe's 4 BILLION mile journey to comet
Summary
A treasure trove of photos captured by the Rosetta space probe as it explored a comet millions of miles from Earth has been made available online. These include strange cracks, tall rock faces, and stunning "dust fountains" formed as the suns radiation caused parts of the comets surface to burst open. The archive is a joint project with Flensburg University of Applied Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, which lead the OSIRIS team. One of its key discoveries was an unusual form of water not common on Earth, suggesting that comets similar to 67P were not responsible for bringing oceans to our own planet. "Rosetta and Philae are playing a key role in the revolution triggered by the space exploration of the solar system, and to our vision of planetary worlds," he writes.