A space probe just landing on a moving comet. They say it is like hitting a golf ball and having it land on the moon. This is a very rare and interesting event indeed. It took 10 years for the probe to reach the comment. Then it also had to achieve the difficult task of actually remaining on the comet. The event will hold a place in the history books for sure.
The Washington Post used an Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars to compare the comet’s size. Way to get people into the story and current events by reaching them with nerd humor!
I like that Washington Post uses an Imperial Star Destroyer to show the size of the comet Philae landed on! @StarWars pic.twitter.com/IrtThqIaTI
— Amy Ratcliffe (@amy_geek) November 12, 2014
This is pretty cool:
Comet 67P, to be visited by Rosetta/Philea. Approximately 6 km total length, long axis
ASTEN Space Settlement, designed by Eric Yam. 1.7km high, 1km diameter
Super Star Destroyer, 19.0km (Official), Please see http://www.theforce.net/swtc/ssd.html for an alternate length and discussion. Image originally drawn by Chad Wilson
See more here.
This is not the first size comparison we’ve seen for 67P. In the leadup to this morning’s touchdown, we’ve seen it depicted beside (or on top of) Los Angeles, Mt. Fuji, and even a Borg Cube. Perhaps somebody should make room for 67P on this starship comparison chart. (via io9.com)
