Science

Earth Glitters At Night, As Seen By Passing Probe

As the European Space Agency’s Rosetta comet probe swung by Earth earlier this week on its way to a final destination, it picked up some marvelous photos of the home planet. Particularly interesting are the night-time shots, showing the urban areas of the globe lit up. Rosetta is on its way to a rendezvous in […]

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As the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet probe swung by Earth earlier this week on its way to a final destination, it picked up some marvelous photos of the home planet. Particularly interesting are the night-time shots, showing the urban areas of the globe lit up.

Rosetta is on its way to a rendezvous in the outer solar system with a comet called 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but is using several passes by Earth as a kind of gravitational slingshot. Launched in March 2004, it will pass by Earth once more in 2009, before heading out to approach the comet itself in 2014.

The pictures included here were taken with the OSIRIS (Optical Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System)Wide Angle Camera, while Rosetta was about 46,000 miles away.

Below the fold is an annotated, less processed version of the image that shows exactly what we're seeing.

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Rosetta: OSIRIS’ view of Earth by night[ESA]

*Images: The Earth by night, a composite image taken by ESA's Rosetta probe. Credit: ESA)