Largest boulders on Rosetta's comet named after Egyptian pyramid 'Cheops'

Scientists have named the cluster of boulders, Cheops, as they reminded the scientists of the pyramids of Giza; the boulder has been named 'Cheops' after the largest pyramid within the Giza Necropolis.

The scientific imaging system OSIRIS on board ESA's spacecraft Rosetta has caught a spectacular glimpse of one of the many boulders that cover the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

With a maximum extension of approximately 45 meters it was one of the larger structures of this kind on the comet and stood out among a group of boulders located on the lower side of 67P's larger lobe.

Scientists have said that as many of the smaller and larger boulders currently were being mapped by the OSIRIS team, Cheops stood out from the darker underground. The highly resolved images now startle scientists with striking details. The surface of Cheops has seemed to be very craggy and irregular, especially intriguing were small patches on the boulder's surface displaying the same brightness and texture as the underground.

It had looked almost as if loose dust covering the surface of the comet had settled in the boulder's cracks.