SciBuff.com

If you are from the Netherlands, I’m sorry for the confusion. I don’t mean princess Ariane who would not really like having been made almost 28 years older. I’m really referring to the series of space launch vehicles used by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Ariane 1 was first launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on December 24, 1979, marking the beginning of 30 years of success and giving Europe a guaranteed independent access to Space. The video below is a short recapitulation of 30 years of Ariane 1-5 launches, their contribution to science and space exploration.

The lights of North American cities taken by Rosetta OSIRIS Imaging System's Narrow-Angle Camera at 04:44 GMT - Source: ESA ©2009 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

After yesterday’s marvelous crescent of the Earth from 633,000 km, the Rosetta spacecraft delivered another beauty today. At 04:44 GMT, just about 3 hours before its closest approach to Earth, the Narrow-Angle Camera of the OSIRIS Imagining System took a 10-second exposure of Northen American cities at night (click here for a high-resolution version).