Scientists say a space probe aiming to become the first to land on a comet has taken images that appear to show its target could be two separate lumps of rock and ice flying in tandem.

The pictures released in Berlin were taken by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe, which is nearing the final stage of its decade-long mission to rendezvous with and drop a lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The landing is planned for November. Mission scientist Matt Taylor said the images shot from several thousand miles away show 67P is shaped like “a strange-looking potato”.

He says this could mean the comet is a so-called contact binary composed of two distinct parts, or that it is one unit deformed by its passage past Jupiter or the sun.

Taylor said: “Some people have already likened the shape to a duck, with a distinct body and head. It’s certainly an exciting surprise.”

Until now 67P was believed to have a more compact, rounded form. Because the pictures were shot when Rosetta was 7,457 miles from the comet, the unusual shape could also result from a digital processing method that was used to smoothen the image, he cautioned.

“We’re looking forward to the next month when this body comes into closer resolution,” Taylor said, adding that for the time being scientists are not making any changes to the probe’s flight path.

Rosetta is scheduled to come within 62 miles of the comet on August 6. It will observe the comet for several months before attempting to drop a lander on to its icy surface in November. 67P is about two-and-a- half miles long and orbits the sun every six-and-a-half years.