November 15, 2007

ROSETTA: OSIRIS' VIEW OF EARTH BY NIGHT

A striking composite of Earth by night shows the illuminated crescent over Antarctica and cities of the northern hemisphere. The images were acquired with the OSIRIS Wide Angle Camera (WAC) during Rosetta's second Earth swing-by on Nov. 13.

The image showing islands of light created by human habitation was taken with the OSIRIS WAC at 19:45 CET, about 2 hours before the closest approach of the spacecraft to Earth. At the time, Rosetta was about 80 000 km above the Indian Ocean where the local time approached midnight (the angle between Sun, Earth and Rosetta was about 160°). The image was taken with a five-second exposure of the WAC with the red filter.

The image showing Earth's illuminated crescent was taken with the WAC at 20:05 CET as Rosetta was about 47,000 miles from Earth. The crescent seen is around Antarctica. The image is a color composite combining images obtained at various wavelengths.

To view the image, visit:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEM3HV53R8F_1.html

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Contact:

Monica Talevi
European Space Agency
31-715-653-223
monica.talevi@esa.int

This text derived from:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEM3HV53R8F_1.html

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