14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed a few days ago that comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which is targeted by the Rosetta spacecraft, has just emerged from behind the Sun. The probe is scheduled to achieve orbital insertion around this celestial body sometime in May 2014.
Rosetta spent nearly 31 months in a deep slumber, from mid-2011, but it was successfully resurrected on January 20. Similarly, its intended target became active in late February, after slipping from view behind the Sun on October 5, 2013. Both the last and the first images of 67P were collected by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope installation in Chile.
The images above were collected on February 28, at 09:30 GMT. Multiple individual exposures were used in the photo on the left, to represent the stars in the background. The comet itself is visible at the exact center of the green circle. A clearer view is seen on the right, where all background stars have been subtracted from view.
Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is around 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) across and has represented a target for Rosetta since launch occurred, on March 2, 2004. The probe will orbit the celestial body for more than a year, and it will also deploy the Philae lander to its surface. The smaller vehicle will latch onto the object with grappling hooks and will use its 10 scientific instruments to study it in detail.