Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko in Crescent
As the 3-km wide comet (Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenkomoves) moves closer to the Sun, heat causes the nucleus to expel gas and dust. Last July, The Rosetta spacecraft arrived at the comet's double nucleus and now is co-orbiting the Sun with the comet. Recent analysis of data from the Rosetta spacecraft has shown that water being expelled from the comet is very different from the water on Earth (indicating Earth's water couldn't have originated from ancient collisions with comets like 67P). Recent data also shows that there is no detected magnetic field around the comet nucleus (magnetism might have been unimportant in the evolution of the early Solar System). In the image above, Comet 67P is shown in a crescent phase (false color) and the comet is expected to increase its evaporation rate as it nears the Sun in 2015 August.
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