All articles tagged with #dinkinesh
NASA's Lucy spacecraft's visit to the asteroid Dinkinesh and its companion Selam has revealed significant insights into their history and structure, aiding our understanding of early planetary formation.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft discovered that the asteroid Dinkinesh, also known as "Dinky," has a satellite named Selam, which is actually a contact binary composed of two moons stuck together. This finding challenges existing theories about asteroid formation and provides new insights into the internal structure and dynamics of these celestial bodies. The discovery was detailed in a paper published in Nature, highlighting the complexity of small celestial bodies and their role in understanding planetary formation.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, captured its first-ever asteroid encounter, revealing a surprise. The spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (L'LORRI) returned an image of what was initially thought to be a single asteroid, but further analysis showed that it was actually a contact binary, consisting of two smaller objects touching each other. This is the first time a contact binary has been observed orbiting another asteroid. The larger asteroid, Dinkinesh, is about half a mile wide, while its small satellite is about 0.15 miles in size. The discovery adds to the excitement of the Lucy mission, which aims to study the Trojan asteroids and prepare for future encounters.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a 12-year mission to study Trojan asteroids, encountered its first target, Dinkinesh, and made a surprising discovery. Dinkinesh is actually a binary system, with two smaller asteroids orbiting it closely to form a contact binary. This is the first time astronomers have observed such a system orbiting an asteroid. Lucy has now visited three asteroids instead of one, and will continue its mission to study a total of 11 objects. The scientific community is excited to unravel the mysteries of this peculiar contact binary.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to survey Jupiter Trojan asteroids, made an unexpected discovery during its first encounter with the asteroid Dinkinesh. The team found that Dinkinesh's satellite is a contact binary, composed of two smaller objects touching each other. This is the first time a contact binary has been observed orbiting another asteroid. The discovery was made through multiple perspectives captured by Lucy's imaging system, providing insights into the asteroids' shapes. The team is excited to unravel the mysteries of this bizarre system and continue exploring the remaining 10 asteroids on Lucy's 12-year journey.
NASA's Lucy mission, during its first asteroid flyby, discovered that the small moon orbiting the main belt asteroid Dinkinesh is actually two moons that appear as one because they are touching. Dinkinesh is the smallest main belt asteroid ever explored by a spacecraft, and its moons are approximately the same size, which is unusual for contact binaries. Scientists are intrigued by how these equally-sized bodies stick together gravitationally and are eager to study them further. This unexpected finding demonstrates that Lucy's equipment is working well, and the mission will continue to survey other asteroids in the future.
NASA's Lucy mission, which recently flew by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, has made a surprising discovery. Initially believed to be part of a binary pair, new images reveal that Dinkinesh is actually a contact binary, consisting of two smaller asteroids touching each other. The close approach was primarily a test for the spacecraft's equipment, but the unexpected finding has left scientists puzzled. Lucy's main goal is to survey the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter, and its next close encounter will be with another main belt asteroid in 2025 before heading towards the Trojans in 2027.
NASA's Lucy mission, which recently flew by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, has made a "puzzling" discovery. Initial images suggested that Dinkinesh was part of a binary pair, with a smaller asteroid orbiting it. However, subsequent images revealed that the smaller asteroid is actually a contact binary, two smaller space rocks that touch each other. This unexpected finding has surprised scientists and will provide valuable insights into the formation and composition of asteroids. The Lucy mission aims to survey the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter and will continue its exploration in the coming years.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, successfully completed its first high-speed encounter with a small main belt asteroid called Dinkinesh. The spacecraft "phoned home" to NASA and is considered to be in good health. Data obtained during the encounter will be relayed to researchers over the next week to assess Lucy's performance. Multiple instruments on the spacecraft were activated during the encounter, including a high-resolution camera, color imager, and infrared spectrometer. Lucy will continue to periodically observe Dinkinesh for another four days as it moves away from the asteroid.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has successfully completed its first flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh, marking a milestone in its mission to visit 10 asteroids over the next 12 years. The spacecraft, part of NASA's Lucy mission to uncover secrets of the solar system's past, will study Trojan asteroids orbiting the sun alongside Jupiter. The flyby of Dinkinesh served as a test-run for the spacecraft's instruments, which collected data about the asteroid. The data will be downlinked to Earth over the next week. Lucy will now head back to Earth for a gravity assist before zooming towards its second asteroid target.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is set to make its first flyby of an asteroid named Dinkinesh on November 1, marking the beginning of its 12-year-long mission to investigate 10 asteroid subjects. Lucy's ultimate goal is to study the Trojan asteroids, which are remnants of the solar system's formation. The spacecraft will collect data using its instruments during the flyby, serving as an important test before reaching its Trojan asteroid destinations. After Dinkinesh, Lucy will continue its journey, with the next flyby scheduled for April 2025.
NASA's Lucy mission, which aims to study "Trojan" asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit, is set to make its first asteroid flyby on Wednesday. The spacecraft will come within 265 miles of the small main belt asteroid Dinkinesh, testing its tracking system and collecting data as it speeds by at 10,000 mph. This flyby is significant as it will determine if the tracking system is functioning properly. Lucy is named after the Lucy hominin fossils, and Dinkinesh was proposed as the name for the asteroid by the Lucy mission scientists, in reference to the Ethiopian name for the Lucy fossils.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is set to rendezvous with the asteroid Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt on Wednesday, marking its first close encounter with an asteroid. Lucy will collect data on Dinkinesh using its instruments, including a color imager and infrared spectrometer. The spacecraft will then continue to image and track the asteroid for about an hour before reorienting itself to resume communications with Earth. Lucy's mission is to study the Trojan asteroids, and it will begin its tour of these rocky bodies in 2027. Dinkinesh was added to Lucy's list of asteroid targets to test its instruments before reaching the Jovian system.
NASA's Lucy probe is set to fly by the asteroid Dinkinesh on November 1st, marking the first stop on its record-breaking tour of ten space rocks. The encounter with Dinkinesh will serve as a test for Lucy's Terminal Tracking System, which keeps its instruments pointed at asteroids during flybys. This will be a challenging test as Dinkinesh is smaller than the other targets. Following the flyby, Lucy will head back to Earth for a gravity assist before continuing its mission to visit Trojan asteroids in 2027.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to study asteroids, has captured the first images of the smallest asteroid target on its agenda, a 0.5 mile-wide rock called Dinkinesh. The images were taken from a distance of 14 million miles away and show Dinkinesh as a speck of light. The spacecraft is scheduled to visit the Trojan asteroids, but Dinkinesh was added as a risk-mitigation exercise to test the spacecraft's tracking system. The flyby on November 1 will also help assess the accuracy of Lucy's pointing capabilities. The name Dinkinesh translates to "you are marvelous" and is a nod to the 3.2 million-year-old fossils of an early human ancestor nicknamed "Lucy."