Is Europe a Country?

Thanks to ALX for that one! :)

Latest Photo of Europe at Night

Credits: ESA ©2007 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
This image of Earth, targeted roughly at Greece, was taken with the OSIRIS Wide Angle Camera (WAC) during this month’s Earth swing-by, Rosetta’s third major step on its 10-year journey to Comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko:

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Diameter of nucleus - estimated (km)	3 x 5
Rotation period (hours)	~12
Orbital period (years)	6.57
Perihelion distance from Sun (million km)	194 (1.29 AU)
Aphelion distance from Sun (million km)	858 (5.74 AU)
Orbital eccentricity	0.632
Orbital inclination (degrees)	7.12
Year of discovery	1969
Discoverers	Klim Churyumov & Svetlana Gerasimenko

Info

Closest approach took place on 13 November 2007. Rosetta sped past at 45 000 km/h (about 12.5 km/s) relative to Earth. The increased energy from this Earth swing-by will help Rosetta cross the asteroid belt for a second time, observe Lutetia (its second target asteroid) and finally rendezvous with comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The rendezvous will take place about 4 astronomical units or 600 million km from the Sun, in 2014.

During this Earth swing-by, a few experiments both on the orbiter and the Philae lander were activated for calibration, scientific measurements and imaging. Rosetta first pointed to Earth and then to the Moon for the observations. ESA