We reported earlier on the two-decade-old Earth Swingby Anomaly:

Since 1990, scientists and mission controllers at ESA and NASA have noticed that their spacecraft sometimes experience a strange variation in the amount of orbital energy they exchange with Earth during planetary swingbys. The unexplained variation is noticed as a tiny difference in speed gained or lost during the swingby when comparing that predicted by fundamental physics and that actually measured after the event.

Last week, after analysing the radiometric data gathered by ESA and NASA ground stations that tracked Rosetta during her successful 13 November swingby, ESA's Trevor Morley, the lead flight dynamics specialist on Rosetta, sent us a brief mail update. His report?

"For Rosetta's third and final Earth swingby, there was no anomaly."

(Access more details under 'Full story' below) -- Daniel

 Full story »

Today, NASA's popular "Astronomy Picture of the Day" website features a cool image acquired by none other than our favourite comet chaser, Rosetta! 

Our NASA colleagues wrote:

"Goodbye Earth. Earlier this month, ESA's interplanetary Rosetta spacecraft zoomed past the Earth on its way back across the Solar System. Pictured above, Earth showed a bright crescent phase featuring the South Pole to the passing rocket ship. Launched from Earth in 2004, Rosetta used the gravity of the Earth to help propel it out past Mars and toward a 2014 rendezvous with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Last year, the robot spacecraft passed asteroid 2867 Steins, and next year it is scheduled to pass enigmatic asteroid 21 Lutetia. If all goes well, Rosetta will release a probe that will land on the 15-km diameter comet in 2014."

On behalf of the entire team working on Rosetta, 'Thanks guys!' -- Daniel

(Click on the image above to view the original version in ESA website.)