A crack recently noticed by scientists in the latest images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko could mean that the comet might eventually break apart as it continues its journey closer to the sun.
This comes after scientists recently released new information collected by 11 of Rosetta's science instruments as it orbits and studies the comet.
The crack, which measures about one-third of a mile long, could mean that the comet is reacting to the stresses of its journey towards the sun. As the comet gets closer to our solar system's star, it heats up and becomes more active. The comet's surface is getting hotter and will only continue to warm before it reaches its closest point to the sun in August. This means that it expands and contracts as its temperature changes, creating stresses around its "neck."
Scientists also believe tidal forces of the sun put stresses on the comet, which could also cause such a fissure. The comet's neck area is now the most active part of the comet, probably because it receives more sunlight than the comet's head and body.
It is now believed possible that Comet 67P was once two separate bodies and that the neck is where the two joined at some point in its history.
Scientists also released another report that Comet 67P is leaking water into space as it gets closer to the sun.
"In observations over a period of three months [June through August, 2014], the amount of water in vapor form that the comet was dumping into space grew about tenfold," says Sam Gulkis, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "To be up close and personal with a comet for an extended period of time has provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to see how comets transform from cold, icy bodies to active objects spewing out gas and dust as they get closer to the sun."
Even more interesting, though, is that the neck is where most of the comet's water vapor is coming from. Most likely this means that something new and exciting is going on in that region of the comet.
Rosetta continues to follow the comet's journey, which will reach its closest point to the sun on August 6, 2015.
Rosetta first made history by becoming the first spacecraft ever to orbit a comet and made history again when its Philae Lander arrived on Comet 67P's surface last year. However, not all went according to plan and, for now, it is uncertain where Philae landed, although photos the lander took before it ran out of power showed it on the comet's surface.
Unfortunately, Rosetta hasn't yet discovered Philae's location, but there is a slight chance that the European Space Agency will approve a new Philae-finding mission within the next few days.
