December 23, 2014
Somewhere between the hydrogen and the starlight, between the gravity and the grace, the universe conspired to bring you into being.
The Cliffs of Comet Churyumov�Gerasimenko
Birthday · December 23, 2014
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APOD published December 23, 2014. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
These high cliffs occur on the surface of a comet. They were discovered to be part of the dark nucleus of Comet Churyumov�Gerasimenko (CG) by Rosetta, a robotic spacecraft launched by ESA which began orbiting the comet in early August. The ragged cliffs, as featured here, were imaged by Rosetta about two weeks ago. Although towering about one kilometer high, the low surface gravity of Comet CG would likely make a jump from the cliffs, by a human, survivable. At the foot of the cliffs is relatively smooth terrain dotted with boulders as large as 20 meters across. Data from Rosetta indicates that the ice in Comet CG has a significantly different deuterium fraction -- and hence likely a different origin -- than the water in Earth's oceans. The Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to continue to accompany the comet as it makes its closest approach to the Sun in 2015 August.