Mass: 1 x 10¹³kg
Density: 0.47g/m³
Size: 4.1×3.3×1.8 km
SMA: 3.46282 AU
Period: 6.44396 years
Eccentricity: 0.641°
Rotation: 12.4 hours
Inclination: 7.04°

 

Discovered by Klim Ivanovych Churyumov, who examined a photograph that had been exposed for periodic comet 32P/Comas Sola by Svetlana Ivanova Gerasimenko on September 11, 1969, at the Alma-Ata Astrophysical Institute. The comet's core is 4.1km wide and target of ESA's Rosetta spacecraft mission, launched on 2 March 2004, which woke up from hibernation mode on 20 January 2014 to monitor the comet and select a suitable site for an attempted landing in November 2014 by its Philae lander.

The spacecraft arrived at the comet on 6 August 2014. On 12 November 2014, Rosetta's lander Philae was deployed to the surface. The landing site has been named 'Agilkia'.

So far detected gasses include water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane, methanol, sodium, and magnesium.