back to article This isn't a sci-fi movie: It's a human-made probe snapping a comet selfie

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta comet-hunter craft has sent back its last selfie, taken from just 10 miles – 16 kilometres – from Comet 67P/C-G. The selfie was snapped by Philae, the lander that will descend to the comet on November 12. The lander used its CIVA instruments to take the snap. The CIVA-P part of the …

  1. phil dude
    Thumb Up

    one day...

    perhaps we'll an internet for the solar system, and we'll be able to watch it live on sleepless nights...!

    P.

    1. The Axe

      Re: one day...

      Except that it won't be live but delayed by about half an hour.

      1. VinceH

        Re: one day...

        "Except that it won't be live but delayed by about half an hour."

        Depends which bit of it you want to watch. It's not all the same distance away.

        1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

          Re: one day...

          Presumably bits about 4AU away...

          1. VinceH

            Re: one day...

            A view from 4AU away "straight up" might give an overall view of the Solar System - though whether the dots would be worth seeing from that distance is a matter of field of interest.

            Another reason for the delay might be censorship; a slight delay while the "live" footage is checked for bad language (I hear Uranus is a right potty mouth) and other naughtiness (I gather NASA likes to do a little probing here and there in the Solar System).

      2. TheOtherHobbes

        Re: one day...

        Ansible

  2. Mark 85
    Thumb Up

    I have to say...

    this is just an amazing photograph. The time and distance traveled and all the things that could have went wrong and didn't. I am in awe.

    1. I like noodles

      Re: I have to say...

      Agreed, and yet there are people commenting on the linked article giving them grief for having it take a selfie. It's sad that for every bunch of amazing people, there is also a bunch of assholes waiting round the next corner.

      1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: I have to say...

        Indeed. A shot like that is not only a marker for the abilities of man, but a cracking photo in and of itself.

        Kudos to the folks that planned it, designed it, built it, and flew it.

        1. DropBear
          Joke

          Re: I have to say...

          Cue in obligatory comment about how in 2014 we still can't have a bloody coloured photo of stuff from space in 3...2...1...

          1. Richard 12 Silver badge
            Joke

            Re: I have to say...

            It's not in bloody colour!

            How dare they take photos in non-visible spectrum, just because it makes for better science!

          2. ian 22

            Re: I have to say...

            Cue obligatory paranoid "it's all done in a photographer's studio" comments in... 5, 4, 3, ...

  3. Lars Silver badge

    Please

    A video.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Please

      Screw video, when will I be able to book such a trip myself?

      1. stizzleswick
        Joke

        Re: Please

        Nope. Playmobil, or it didn't happen.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Reminds me of the Armageddon movie

    Which has all the ingredients for a crap movie but, for some reason, I find its epic tone so over the top that it ends up being entertaining in its own way.

    Quickly, send a couple of next generation space shuttles there...

  5. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Already a great achievement

    Well done to the men and women who have already managed to achieve so much.

    May your skills as scientists continue to be as successful.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    looks very cold

    and very lonely out there.

  7. Tom_

    The Future

    When people make flippant remarks about how it's already the future and we don't yet have flying cars, send them this photo.

    1. Crazy Operations Guy

      Re: The Future

      I think its a sign of how advanced humans are in that we *don't* have flying cars. Consider how bad a lot of people are now with cars that move in 1.5 dimensions, imagine how bad they'll be when they can operate in 3 dimensions?

  8. mhenriday
    Thumb Up

    Brilliant photo -

    kudos to the Rosetta team at ESA and thanks to El Reg editors for publishing it !...

    Henri

    1. Mike Perrin
      Thumb Up

      Re: Brilliant photo -

      Seconded - amazing achievement and just what I need to brighten my day!

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That photo...

    ...genuinely took my breath away! :-o

  10. David 45

    Google

    I expect Google Street View to be up there soon.

  11. Jonski
    Paris Hilton

    Best selfie EVA

    And not a duckfaced teen in sight.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like