Comet changes: surface textures in Ma’at

A smooth area in the Ma’at region on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko’s small lobe was observed to become rougher in texture prior to perihelion in August 2015, creating the honeycomb-like structures indicated. Months after perihelion these features have disappeared, presumably due to the deposition of new material that was likely ejected from the active southern hemisphere.

The images were taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera on 20 September 2014 (left), 28 March 2015 (middle) and 14 March 2016 (right), with resolutions of 0.5 m/pixel, 0.3 m/pixel and 0.3 m/pixel, respectively.