This image comes from the Rosetta Spacecraft and is a shot of a portion of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Look at those cliffs, standing tall in a vacuum on a body no bigger than Manhattan, and imagine standing at the base. What could be happening there? Is it a meeting? A search?

This is from the OSIRIS cameras on the spacecraft. The resolution, as you can see, is wonderful. This is a view from about 20 kilometers from comet dead center. The image is discussed at length at THIS BLOG, and also HERE. Please visit those sites. There are other images there as well as more fascinating information.

For our purposes here, the point is the effect this image has on the imagination. The scene is reminiscent of some places on Earth–certain places at night in Arizona, for instance. But knowing what it is, and that it is careening around the sun in cometary isolation, pushes the analogy and adds something new and intriguing–at least for me, and I hope for you, too. But either way, enjoy this new view of something unknown to human eyes before this month. I’m sure more astonishing sights will follow.

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