Alright alright alright Philae Comet Landing

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slag

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Wouldn't it be cool if the probe landed and found evidence of other civilizations that had done the same thing? This comet is said to have originated near the kuiper belt, but what if it had flown into our area millions of years ago and got stuck by the gravitational pull of the planets/sun?
 
CZroe

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
slag said:
Wouldn't it be cool if the probe landed and found evidence of other civilizations that had done the same thing? This comet is said to have originated near the kuiper belt, but what if it had flown into our area millions of years ago and got stuck by the gravitational pull of the planets/sun?
Click to expand...

Comets lose mass with every pass. Most or all of the evidence would be gone.
 
H

HN

Diamond Member
Jan 19, 2001
8,186
4
0
image from 3km out:

ROLIS_descent_image_node_full_image_2.png
 
K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
81
how fast was the comet moving when they landed? I've read a few articles and can't find this answer.
 
H

HN

Diamond Member
Jan 19, 2001
8,186
4
0
William Gaatjes said:
I find it amazing how they can calculate that trajectory, using gravity of Earth and other celestial bodies. Of course, they have a lot of experience. But still. Wonders of science.
Click to expand...

my thoughts exactly. kept thinking of the roller derby maneuvers where they slingshot each other; but on a slightly larger scale, of course.
 
moonbogg

moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
10,637
3,095
136
slag said:
Yeah, for all we know thats the back of a dust mite or something taken with an electron microscope.
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Don't be silly. Mites are much larger than an electron. Man, I hope those anchors work though.
 
H

HN

Diamond Member
Jan 19, 2001
8,186
4
0
"philae landed but the anchors didn't fire. it then bounced, floated a bit, and landed again. so we didn't just land on a comet. we landed on a comet twice, bitches" *drops the mic* :D

radio link is down but that was expected. communications will be back up tomorrow evening.
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
HN said:
"philae landed but the anchors didn't fire. it then bounced, floated a bit, and landed again. so we didn't just land on a comet. we landed on a comet twice, bitches" *drops the mic* :D

radio link is down but that was expected. communications will be back up tomorrow evening.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it stays put, they are dealing with tiny amounts of gravity because of the small mass of the comet. One could probably jump off it's surface and you would just keep going away, if it's in a stable position what a treat it will be to be able to photograph the comet in the coming months as it approaches the sun and see the out-gassing right from the comet itself, awesome!, amazing job done by these folks as they have encountered obstacles in the 10 year journey to the rendezvous. It's pretty far out there as radio signals take 45 minutes each way..
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
moonbogg said:
That is cool. Hard to gage scale based on the photo. They should have held up a penny.
Click to expand...

Compared to airliner for scale:
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/look-at-the-size-of-that-comet-rosetta-is-chasing-compa-1653147476

[edit]
I guess this link for the airliner size comparison would have been better:
https://imgur.com/a/CWrHL


https://i.imgur.com/jf1IWp3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/g18QTvg.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4Fhk7IA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dC7K996.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KzH0hpG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/93nNgaa.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7wse1zG.jpg
 
Last edited:
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