More news from intrepid space explorer Rosetta. On its way to becoming the first man-made craft to touch down on the surface of a comet, it decided to take in the scenery: NASA has released a composite made of four images taken on September 26 when Rosetta was 16 miles from the center of the comet. In the image, the comet is seen shooting off jets of gas and dust.

The jets emanate from several discreet locations, according to NASA. In the composite photo, debris is seen coming from the neck of the comet. As ice within the comet’s nucleus sublimates, pressure builds and the gas eventually spews forth.

The four photos aren’t taken from the exact same perspective due to the comet’s rotation (about 10 degrees over the course of 20 minutes) and movement of the spacecraft itself.

The jets aren’t just a cool feature of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, they’re what give comets their iconic look: As comets approach the sun, the matter from those same jets gets pushed back by the pressure of sunlight, giving comets their classic “tail.”

Rosetta intends to track the comet through 2015 as it approaches our Sun.

Image: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM