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Rosetta has taken an incredible selfie of its 131ft (40 metre) solar wings gleaming against the darkness of space.

In the background is the duck-shaped comet, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with its distinct 'head' and 'body' clearly visible.

The image was taken on 7 September by Rosetta's landing craft Philae at a distance of 31 miles (50km) from the comet.

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Rosetta has taken a stunning selfie of its 131ft (40 metre) solar wings gleaming against the darkness of deep space. In the background, is the duck-shaped comet, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with its distinct 'head' and 'body' clearly visible

Two images with different exposure times were patched together to help highlight the details.

It was created as part of the preparations being made by the lander team for the first ever attempt to land on a comet.

Five possible landing sites, which appeared to be flat and relatively smooth, were chosen last month.

But as Rosetta has edged closer to the comet, its uneven surface has come into focus, suggesting that the landing sites will be more risky than first thought.

Yesterday, a colourful map revealing its stunning landscape was unveiled by mission scientists in Darmstadt following data sent back from the probe.

Several different surface regions are shown in this map, which is oriented with the comet's 'body' in the foreground and the 'head' in the background. The map is expected to help researchers pick a suitable place to drop a lander in November - the first time a landing on a comet has ever been attempted

The map shows 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's 'continents' based on the variations on the comet's surface.

Esa told MailOnline that the colours do not represent specific formations on the comet, but do indicate that they are different regions.

Various areas are dominated by cliffs, depressions, craters, boulders and even parallel grooves, with some regions still being shaped by the comet's activity.

As both 67P and Rosetta travel closer to the sun over the next months, the mission control team will monitor the surface looking for changes.

While the scientists don't expect the borderlines of the comet's regions to vary dramatically, more subtle transformations could help explain more about how comets form.

Jagged cliffs and prominent boulders are visible in this image taken by on 5 September 2014 from a distance of 39 miles (62km) from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The left part of the image shows a side view of the comet's 'body', while the right is the back of its 'head'. One pixel corresponds to 3.6ft (1.1 metres)

Next weekend, on 13 and 14 September, the maps will play a key role as Rosetta's Lander Team and the Rosetta orbiter scientists to decide where they will park the Philae lander.

An announcement on their decision will be made on 15 September.

Once Philae leaves Rosetta to head for 67P/C-G, there will be no chance to alter its path. It will take between five and eight hours to reach the comet's surface and be pulled in by its weak gravity.

Earlier this week, Rosetta uncovered some surprising features about comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Instead of imaging a bright, ice-covered comet, the probe's instruments have detected that 67P is in fact darker than charcoal in some wavelengths of light.

And scientists working on Rosetta's Alice instrument have so far failed to find any large patches of water-ice on 67P's surface.

An artist's impression of the Rosetta orbiter at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Instead of imaging a bright, ice-covered comet, the probe's instruments have detected that 67P is in fact darker than charcoal

Animation shows how the Rosetta spacecraft takes images

'We're a bit surprised at just how unreflective the comet's surface is and how little evidence of exposed water-ice it shows,' said Alan Stern, Alice principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado.

Scientists had previously believed the comet's surface would contain ice because it was too far away for the sun's warmth to melt it.

The lack of ice could suggest that the comet had been in close with our sun, or a different star, at some point during its journey in deep space.

They also found that the 'coma' - or atmosphere - around the comet contains of hydrogen and oxygen.

This is surprising as comas are generally thought to be composed of water vapour and dust.

Described as 'the sexiest, most fantastic mission ever', Rosetta will spend more than a year analysing the comet to help uncover the secrets to life on Earth.

The comet itself is about 2.5 miles (4km) long and orbits the sun every six-and-a-half years.

It is heading towards the sun, so as it nears the star it will begin to melt more.

For a sense of scale, the comet is about three times the size of Ben Nevis and Rosetta is the size of a car with 105ft (32 metre) wings.

Zoom in on the image below to find out where Rosetta is at the moment 

Five sites were identified on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the Landing Site Selection Group meeting held 23–24 August. The approximate locations of the five regions are marked on these OSIRIS narrow-angle camera images taken on 16 August from a distance of about 62 miles (100km)