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Earth and Moon through Rosetta’s eyes   Rosetta’s VIRTIS instrument took this infrared view of the Moon on 4 March 2005, before closest approach to Earth, from a distance of 400 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 100 kilometres per pixel. Red colours represent ‘maria’ regions, while blue regions are highlands.  Rosetta’s VIRTIS instrument took this monochromatic view of the Moon in infrared light on 4 March 2005, before closest approach to Earth, from a distance of 400 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 100 kilometres per pixel. In this image, VIRTIS mainly saw the radiation emitted by the lunar surface, which is uniformly heated and independent on the solar illumination and on the latitude. This is visible in the white part of the image.  Rosetta’s VIRTIS instrument took this monochromatic view of the Moon in infrared light on 4 March 2005, before closest approach to Earth, from a distance of 400 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 100 kilometres per pixel. The Sun’s illumination comes from the bottom left. In this image, VIRTIS mainly saw the radiation reflected by the surface, in the direction of the illumination source. This is visible in the white part of the image.  Only 32% of the Moon’s surface was illuminated for this image taken by Rosetta’s VIRTIS, but it is possible to distinguish Oceanus Procellarum, Kepler Crater and Mare Humorum. This image was taken on 4 March 2005 from a distance of 400 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 100 kilometres per pixel.  After closest approach to Earth, VIRTIS took a series of high-resolution images of our planet in visible and infrared light from a distance of 250 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 62 kilometres per pixel. The images are shown as they were acquired, without rotating them. The North Pole is on the left of the image. This animation was produced using visible light images taken in red, green and blue light to obtain a true-colour Earth.  After closest approach to Earth, Rosetta’s VIRTIS took a series of high-resolution images of our planet in visible and infrared light from a distance of 250 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 62 kilometres per pixel. The images are shown as they were acquired, without rotating them. The North Pole is on the left of the image. This animation was produced using infrared images taken in the so-called ‘thermal’ infrared wavelengths, which catches the heat emitted from Earth’s surface. This is independent on solar illumination so, even if only half of Earth was illuminated by the Sun, VIRTIS could still se the full Earth disk. The animation shows the complex dynamics of Earth’s atmosphere.  This infrared image of Earth shows some examples of the chemical components of our atmosphere that VIRTIS detected. In false colours it shows that the maximum emission of carbon dioxide, shown in yellow, is from the colder areas in the high atmosphere and in the Antarctica region.  This infrared image of Earth shows some examples of the chemical components of our atmosphere that VIRTIS detected. Areas of higher abundance of carbon dioxide are shown in green.  After closest approach to Earth, Rosetta’s VIRTIS took a series of high-resolution images of our planet in visible and infrared light from a distance of 250 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 62 kilometres per pixel.
From this infrared image of Earth in red, blue and green, it is possible to distinguish between day-side (blue) and night-side (yellowish).  Rosetta’s VIRTIS took a series of high-resolution images of our planet in visible and infrared light from a distance of 250 000 kilometres and with a resolution of 62 kilometres per pixel.
These images show Earth in real colours (left) and stretched false colours (right). The contrast between land, clouds and sea has been increased. South America is seen in green where, through the clouds, it is possible to distinguish (a) Argentina and (b) the Andes mountain chains. The sea is blue while the clouds have a reddish-yellowish tint. Release date: 3 May 2005 |