海角大神

People can now see the Rosetta comet through a new, vivid lens.

Scientists released an interactive visual representation of Rosetta鈥檚 comet Thursday, which models how the surface of the comet changes as it rotates, the European Science Agency says.

The tool, which includes a texture map, will allow users to rotate and pan across the comet, the ESA said in a blog post.

The new shape model can help them with 鈥渃alibrating data, studying changes on the surface, and for investigating the geology and morphology of the comet,鈥� wrote ESA scientists.聽

On Thursday, the comet is making its closest approach to the sun, a phenomenon called "perihelion," before swinging back out towards Jupiter. Rosetta's comet, known as聽67P/Churyumov鈥揋erasimenko, takes this loop through the solar system every 6.5 years. On August 13, it will be "only" 115 million miles from the sun, but in three years, when it reaches "aphelion" just beyond Jupiter's orbit, it will be over 500 million miles away, and will be colder, darker, and much less active than it is now.

The weeks surrounding perihelion are especially important for scientists.

The Washington Post reports:

The last few weeks have seen a dramatic increase in the comet's activity.

鈥淥n July 29, Rosetta observed the most dramatic outburst yet,鈥� the ESA wrote in a blog post. A plume of gas erupted from the nucleus, changing the shape and composition of the gaseous coma surrounding Rosetta.

The files for the new shape model, which was generated from NAVCAM images obtained during the close orbit phase in September and October last year, are available to the public and can be聽downloaded from the ESA here.

Data gathered by the orbiting spacecraft Rosetta and the struggling comet lander Philae will help scientists understand how comets form and evolve over time, which could ultimately provide new insights into how the entire solar system formed.