Spaceship Rosetta arrives at comet

This 4 August 2014 video is called Rosetta Probe Will Spiral In To Comet.

From the European Space Agency:

Rosetta arrives at comet destination

6 August 2014

After a decade-long journey chasing its target, ESA’s Rosetta has today become the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet, opening a new chapter in Solar System exploration.

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and Rosetta now lie 405 million kilometres from Earth, about half way between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, rushing towards the inner Solar System at nearly 55 000 kilometres per hour.

The comet is in an elliptical 6.5-year orbit that takes it from beyond Jupiter at its furthest point, to between the orbits of Mars and Earth at its closest to the Sun. Rosetta will accompany it for over a year as they swing around the Sun and back out towards Jupiter again.

Comets are considered to be primitive building blocks of the Solar System and may have helped to ‘seed’ Earth with water, perhaps even the ingredients for life. But many fundamental questions about these enigmatic objects remain, and through a comprehensive, in situ study of the comet, Rosetta aims to unlock the secrets within.

See also here. And here. And here. And here.

Rosetta probe studies released, revealing fullest picture of comet yet. From the ‘frozen primordial soup’ of organics on the comet to new pictures, the discoveries made during the Philae lander’s first days have been published: here.

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