Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a comet, a small icy celestial body that orbits the Sun. It gained fame as the target of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, which studied it in detail. The comet has a nucleus about 4 kilometers across, covered in dust and ice, and displays a visible tail when near the Sun due to sublimation—the process where ice turns directly into gas. Studying such comets helps scientists understand the early solar system's conditions, as they are considered leftover remnants from its formation 4.6 billion years ago.