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Asteroid Dinkinesh

All articles tagged with #asteroid dinkinesh

science-and-astronomy2 years ago

NASA's Lucy Probe Reveals Bizarre Contact Binary Moon Orbiting Asteroid Dinkinesh

NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore asteroids near Jupiter, discovered that the asteroid Dinkinesh is not one, but two objects. Further analysis revealed that Dinkinesh's smaller satellite is a contact binary, meaning the two smaller objects are in contact with each other. This makes Dinkinesh a triple-component system, which is puzzling to scientists. Contact binary systems are common in the solar system, but this is the first time one has been observed orbiting another asteroid. Lucy will continue its mission to study other asteroids and the Trojan asteroids in the coming years.

via Space.com|
#asteroid-dinkinesh#contact-binary#lucy-spacecraft
space-exploration2 years ago

NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Discovers Second Asteroid and Moon During Flyby

NASA's Lucy spacecraft made a "marvelous" discovery during its flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh, revealing that it is actually a binary system. This encounter served as a test for the spacecraft's tracking abilities and provided valuable data for future missions to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The larger body of Dinkinesh is estimated to be approximately 0.5 miles wide, while the smaller body is about 0.15 miles in size. The successful test of the terminal tracking system has excited scientists and will help in understanding the nature of small asteroids. The spacecraft will now prepare for its next close-up look at the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025 before heading towards the Jupiter Trojan asteroids in 2027.

via SciTechDaily|
#asteroid-dinkinesh#binary-system#jupiter-trojan-asteroids
space-exploration2 years ago

NASA's Lucy Mission Discovers Second Asteroid and Moon During Dinkinesh Flyby

NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore the Trojan asteroids associated with Jupiter, made a surprising discovery during its flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh. The spacecraft's cameras revealed another small asteroid orbiting Dinkinesh, making it a binary asteroid system. This unexpected finding brings the total number of asteroids Lucy will fly by to 11, exceeding the original plan of seven. The images captured during the flyby provide detailed views of the asteroid pair, and further analysis of the data will be conducted to investigate the similarities and differences with other binary asteroid systems.

via Fox Weather |
#asteroid-dinkinesh#binary-asteroid-system#flyby
space-exploration2 years ago

"NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Reveals Stunning Images of Asteroid Dinkinesh on Historic Voyage"

NASA's Lucy spacecraft has captured its first images of the main belt asteroid, Dinkinesh, marking the beginning of its 12-year voyage to study 10 asteroids. Currently 14 million miles away, Lucy will approach within 265 miles of Dinkinesh on November 1, 2023, using this close encounter to test its systems. The spacecraft will continue to image the asteroid over the next months to ensure an accurate flyby.

via SciTechDaily|
#asteroid-dinkinesh#images#lucy-spacecraft