image: The various images of the Earth, captured during the third Rosetta fly-by (Nov. 13, 2009), show the capabilities of the VIRTIS Instrument. From left to right: VIS channel image; RGB (standard photographic wavelengths, 0.44, 0.55, 0.7μm ) image of the Earth in the spectral range visible to the naked eye. Ground spatial resolution of about 50 km. VIS Channel image; same image after the application of a contrast enhancement algorithm to improve visibility of various regions (Clouds, Oceans, Ground). North America is seen on the upper left. VIS Channel image; same image when observed with a specific set of wavelengths designed to enhance the chlorophyll absorption. The regions with vegetation are clearly enhanced. IR Channel image; B @1.20μm, G@2.25μm and R@4.92μm. In the infrared, the radiation emitted from the Earth night side clearly shows up in this image. The cyan spots are high altitude clouds, while Oceans appears in red having a thermal emission larger than the landforms in pink. IR Channel image; Thermal emission at 5.0 μm; the Earth looks fairly uniform on the day and night side. The northern American continent (in the top-left quadrant of the image), mainly at night and during the winter season, appears as the coldest area of this image (in blue). This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Jan. 23, 2015, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by F. Capaccioni at Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Rome, Italy, and colleagues was titled, "The organic-rich surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by VIRTIS/Rosetta." view more
Credit: [Credit: ESA/Rosetta/VIRTIS/INAF-IAPS/OBS DE PARIS-LESIA/DLR]