It's official: A European spacecraft has snapped a robotic selfie with a comet in deep space.
The Philae lander riding with European Space Agency's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft snapped a stunning photo of the spacecraft and its target comet, 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The image — released by ESA on Wednesday — gives viewers a new perspective on the spacecraft and comet flying far from Earth.
The black-and-white photo shows one of Rosetta's solar wings from Philae's perspective on Sept. 7, with Comet 67P/C-G flying 31 miles (50 kilometers) away. Both the comet's smaller "head" and "body" are clearly visible in the new photograph. [See more incredible photos taken by the Rosetta mission]
"Two images with different exposure times were combined to bring out the faint details in this very high contrast situation," ESA officials wrote in a blog entry describing the photograph. "The image was taken as part of the preparations being made for Philae, as the lander team gear up for the first-ever attempt to land on a comet."
The Philae lander is expected to touch down on the comet's surface in November, and until then, it is flying with Rosetta near Comet Churyumov-Gerasimov. ESA officials are planning to announce the probe's primary landing site during an event on Sept. 15.
Philae's CIVA instrument (short for Comet Infrared and Visible Analyzer) captured the image. CIVA is one of 10 instruments flying aboard Philae, according to ESA. Rosetta is carrying 11 scientific instruments (not including Philae's experiments).
Scientists hope that Rosetta and Philae will be able to help them learn more about the mechanics of comets — bits of rock and dust leftover from the beginning of the solar system. Rosetta launched on its decade-long journey to the comet in 2004. It arrived at the comet in August and will fly alongside all the way around the sun.
This is a condensed version of a report from Space.com. Read the full report. Follow Miriam Kramer on Facebook and Google+. Follow Space.com on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.