| Churyumov–Gerasimenko | |
|---|---|
| |
| Diameter | 7 km 4 mi. |
| Distance from primary | 467,036,000 km 290,202,716 mi. |
Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, (formally designated 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko) is a comet with a current orbital period of 6.45 years, a rotation period of approximately 12.4 hours and a maximum velocity of 135,000 km/h (38 km/s; 84,000 mph). It will next come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 13 August 2015. Like all comets, it is named after its discoverers, Soviet astronomers Klim Ivanovych Churyumov and Svetlana Ivanovna Gerasimenko, who first observed it on photographic plates in 1969.
Churyumov–Gerasimenko is the destination of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, launched on 2 March 2004. Rosetta rendezvoused with Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 6 August 2014 and entered orbit on 10 September 2014. Rosetta's lander, Philae, landed on its surface on 12 November 2014, becoming the first spacecraft to land on a comet nucleus.