67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Comet· orbits the Sun
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is a two-lobed, 'rubber-duck'-shaped comet studied in unprecedented detail by ESA's Rosetta orbiter and its Philae lander in 2014–2016.
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Key facts
Perihelion
1.24 AU
Aphelion
5.68 AU
Orbital period
6.44 years
Eccentricity
0.6409
Science
Physical
- Nucleus
- ≈ 4.3 × 4.1 km (two lobes)
- Composition
- A dark, porous nucleus of water, carbon-monoxide and carbon-dioxide ices mixed with dust and organic-rich material — extremely low density.
Orbital
- Semi-major axis
- 3.46 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.6409
- Inclination
- 7.04 °
- Orbital period
- 6.44 years
- Perihelion
- 1.24 AU
- Aphelion
- 5.68 AU
- Mean orbital velocity
- 16 km/s
Activity
- Status
- Currently inactive (q = 1.24 AU, next perihelion ≈ 2028)
- Becomes active within
- 5 AU of the Sun
Radiation & temperature
- Insolation
- 0.0834 S⊕ · 8% of the sunlight Earth receives
- Geometric albedo
- 0.06
- Equilibrium temperature
- 147 K (-126 °C)
Discovery & history
- Discovered
- September 20, 1969
- By
- Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko
- Method
- Photographic plates
- Name
- Named after its two discoverers at the Alma-Ata (Almaty) observatory, Kazakhstan.
67P was discovered in 1969 by Klim Churyumov while examining a photographic plate of another comet taken by Svetlana Gerasimenko at Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan. In 2014 it became the first comet ever orbited and landed upon: ESA's Rosetta spacecraft arrived after a ten-year chase and released the Philae lander onto its surface, revealing a dark, two-lobed 'rubber-duck' nucleus of ice and dust.
- 2014RosettaOrbiter
First spacecraft to orbit a comet, escorting 67P for over two years.
- 2014PhilaeLander
First soft landing on a comet nucleus.
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image