Daily cosmobite: Halley flyby anniversary
On this day in 1986 the European Space Agency’s Giotto spacecraft made a close flyby of the nucleus of Halley’s Comet. This encounter provided scientists with their first glimpse of the nucleus of a comet. From Earth these are always hidden by clouds of gas and dust released as comets approach the Sun.
Giotto’s view of Comet Halley. Copyright ESA. Courtesy of MPAe, Lindau
