GIF OF THE WEEK: SNOW FALLS ON A COMET
by Hazed
While the Rosetta probe was orbiting Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in Jun 2016, its camera recorded streaks of dust and ice particles drifting across the field of view. Some of the bright specks are probably just caused by charged particles and cosmic rays hitting the camera, but it still makes an intriguing set of images, which have been stitched together into a GIF. The 33 frames in the animation span about 25 minutes in real time.
Watch the animation of the cometary snow here: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180426.html