The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A composite image of the nucleus of comet P/Halley. This image is composed of 68 images of varying resolution. The data at the brightest point on the nucleus is at the highest resolution (50 m).
The Sun comes from 30 deg above the horizontal to the left and is 17 deg behind the image plane (observation phase angle of 107 deg). The night side of the nucleus can be seen silhouetted against a background of bright dust in the far-field. Jets can be seen originating from two regions on the nucleus. Structure can be seen within the jets. A bright area is seen within the night side of the nucleus. We believe this to be a hill or mountain approximately 500 m high. Other surface details can be seen in the illuminated region.