Re:Philae’s first touchdown seen by Rosetta
by lmm on Sunday November 16, 2014 @06:56AM
(#8614031)
It would land heavy side down both initially and after a bounce, no?
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Re:Philae’s first touchdown seen by Rosetta
by throwaway_yy2Di on Sunday November 16, 2014 @11:13AM
(#8614525)
Gravity exerts almost no torque here. Philae has 100 kg of inertia, but it weighs less than a feather.
Even if were in a strong gravity field, that still wouldn't orient it, if there's no force like air resistance to attenuate its tumbling. It can rotate indefinitely in the vertical plane: there's no loss of energy. (In an atmosphere, this rotation is damped by air drag, so gravity can orient things).