ABSTRACT
The ESA Rosetta Spacecraft followed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for more than two years (August 2014 to September 2016) on its way around the Sun. The bi-lobed comet with its peculiar shape shows landscapes and surface features never seen before. When the comet became active, approaching its perihelion in August 2015, spectacular dust jets and strong, short-lived outbursts were observed. These left their footprints on the comet’s surface, which was therefore constantly evolving. The comet’s morphology, its activity, and resulting changes on the surface are now being interpreted to better understand how comets work and what the driving mechanisms behind their activity are. A comet’s evolution (through activity) and its origin are the two driving questions in cometary science, and one cannot be understood without the other. The Rosetta mission and – with an emphasis in this overview article – images of the OSIRIS cameras provided the most comprehensive dataset to shape our understanding of comets for decades.
