The Rosetta spacecraft may have crashed in 2016, but it still has secrets to share. The European Space Agency (ESA) recently released breathtaking images that the craft took in 2014 as it orbited just 16 miles above the surface of Comet 67P. The image was put together by amateur astronomer Jacint Roger Perez using three separate photos taken by Rosetta during the flyby.
Comet 67P is approximately 2.7 by 2.5 miles at its longest and widest dimensions, and is made up of 26 unique regions, each named after an Egyptian deity. The photo captures four regions of the comet. According to the ESA, the center and left section of the photo are part of a geological region known as Seth, while the "background reveals hints of the Babi and Aker regions." The cliff face in the bottom left-hand portion of the photo is a 440-foot "scarp separating the Seth and Hapi regions."
A flyby done in 2015 found that the cliff had collapsed as the comet moved closer to the sun. In 2016, it was decided that Rosetta would be crashed into the surface of the comet, ending its 12-year mission.
Photo: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team