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NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for Oct. 24, 2026, features a Rosetta spacecraft selfie captured on Oct. 7, 2014, near comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image was made by the CIVA camera system on the still-attached Philae lander and was the last image from Philae’s camera before it separated from Rosetta.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Oct. 24, 2026, features a selfie of the Rosetta spacecraft near comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, captured on Oct. 7, 2014. The image was taken by the CIVA camera system aboard Rosetta’s still-attached Philae lander, shortly before Philae separated from the orbiter and began its descent toward the comet.
At the time of the exposure, Rosetta was about 472 million kilometers from Earth and just 16 kilometers from the comet’s surface, according to the APOD caption. The view shows one of Rosetta’s 14-meter solar arrays catching sunlight, with dust and gas streaming away from the comet’s distinctive two-lobed nucleus in the background.
The scene’s sharp contrast was recorded by combining two exposures, one short and one long. The camera was part of the CIVA system on Philae. NASA’s caption says Philae’s selected primary landing site was on the visible hemisphere of the comet’s smaller lobe.
The Oct. 7 photograph was the last image from Philae’s camera before separation. Philae detached from Rosetta on Nov. 12, 2014. Shortly after separating, it took another picture looking back toward the orbiter, then began its descent to the comet’s nucleus, according to the APOD explanation.
A View Before Philae’s Descent
The image records a brief point in the Rosetta mission’s sequence: the orbiter was surveying the comet at close range while Philae remained attached and prepared to land. Its perspective shows the spacecraft, the comet’s surface environment and the outflow of material together, rather than presenting the comet as a distant object alone.
The photograph also gives the landing story a clear visual marker. It was made more than a month before separation, when Rosetta was still close to the nucleus and Philae’s camera could look across to the orbiter and toward the intended landing region. The APOD feature brings this historical mission image to a new audience, while the caption identifies the camera, date and distance needed to understand what it depicts.
For readers, the distinction between the photo’s date and its publication date matters: NASA’s feature is a retrospective presentation, not a report of a new spacecraft observation. The value here is the documented record of the mission at a specific stage, not a newly announced finding about the comet.
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Rosetta and Philae in 2014
Rosetta was the orbiter in the European Space Agency mission, while Philae was its lander. The two spacecraft were together when CIVA took the Oct. 7 image. The chosen primary landing site lay on the visible side of 67P’s smaller lobe, as described in NASA’s APOD caption.
On Nov. 12, 2014, Philae separated from Rosetta and started its descent toward the nucleus. The APOD account notes that Philae took another image looking back at the orbiter shortly after separation. This chronology explains why the Oct. 7 photograph is described as the last image from Philae’s camera before the two spacecraft parted.
APOD publishes a different image or photograph of the universe each day, accompanied by an explanation written by a professional astronomer. The Oct. 24 entry credits the image to ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA and lists Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff and Keighley Rockcliffe as authors and editors.
Limits of the APOD Account
The source identifies the image date, camera system, spacecraft separation date and approximate distances, but it does not provide the individual exposure durations or additional technical details about how the two exposures were processed. It also does not give a new mission update or present fresh measurements of the comet.
The caption says Philae began its descent toward the nucleus after separating, but the APOD entry does not discuss the outcome of the landing or later mission events. Those details are outside the scope of this image feature. No new scientific conclusion is attributed to the photograph in the supplied source material.
The Next APOD Feature
NASA’s listed schedule points to another Astronomy Picture of the Day on Oct. 25, 2026, titled “Dark Matters.” The Oct. 24 feature does not announce a follow-up investigation or new Rosetta-related milestone; it presents the archival image with its mission context and credits.
Readers seeking further information about this specific photograph can refer to NASA’s APOD page and its image credit, ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA. Any additional technical interpretation or mission history beyond the caption would require separate source material.
Key Questions
When was Rosetta’s selfie taken?
The image was captured on Oct. 7, 2014, although NASA featured it as the Astronomy Picture of the Day on Oct. 24, 2026.
How close was Rosetta to comet 67P?
NASA’s caption places Rosetta about 16 kilometers from the comet’s surface when the image was taken. It was about 472 million kilometers from Earth at the same time.
Which camera took the image?
The image was recorded by the CIVA camera system on Philae, the lander still attached to Rosetta at the time.
Why is this described as Philae’s last image before separation?
NASA’s caption says it was the last image from Philae’s camera before the lander separated from Rosetta on Nov. 12, 2014. Philae took another image looking back toward the orbiter shortly after separation.
Was this a new observation of the comet?
No. The APOD entry published in 2026 features an archival image from 2014; the supplied source does not report a new observation or finding.
Source: primary
