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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Descending Toward Asteroid Bennu
APOD.NASA.gov ^
| 12 Oct, 2020
| Video Credit: NASA, OSIRIS-REx, NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio; Data: NASA, U. Arizona, CSA,
Posted on 10/12/2020 4:42:47 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: What would it be like to land on an asteroid? Although no human has yet done it, NASA's robotic OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is scheduled to attempt to touch the surface of asteroid 101955 Bennu next week. The goal is to collect a sample from the nearby minor planet for return to Earth for a detailed analysis in 2023. The featured video shows what it looks like to descend toward the 500-meter diamond-shaped asteroid, based on a digital map of Bennu's rocky surface constructed from image and surface data taken by OSIRIS-REx over the past 1.5 years. The video begins by showing a rapidly spinning Bennu -- much faster than its real rotation period of 4.3 hours. After the rotation stops, the virtual camera drops you down to just above the rugged surface and circles a house-sized rock outcrop named Simurgh, with the flatter outcrop Roc visible behind it. If the return sample reaches Earth successfully, it will be scrutinized for organic compounds that might have seeded a young Earth, rare or unusual elements and minerals, and clues about the early history of our Solar System.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; asteroid; asteroid101955; asteroidbennu; asteroids; astronomy; nasa; science
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To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).
posted is a previous photo of Bennu because today's link is a video.
To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
10/12/2020 4:43:08 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; America_Right; Art in Idaho; AZ .44 MAG; ...
Pinging the APOD list. Be sure to go to the link to view the simulation video.
3
posted on
10/12/2020 4:45:18 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
I just put in a gravel pad for my generator platform. Could probably use a little more.
4
posted on
10/12/2020 4:50:31 PM PDT
by
Noumenon
("Only the dead have seen an end to war." - Plato)
To: MtnClimber
5
posted on
10/12/2020 4:50:44 PM PDT
by
Repeal The 17th
(Get out of the matrix and get a real life.)
To: MtnClimber
Looks like a slag pile after cleaning out a coal fired boiler.
6
posted on
10/12/2020 4:51:24 PM PDT
by
Pontiac
(The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirs)
To: MtnClimber
7
posted on
10/12/2020 4:51:28 PM PDT
by
ClearCase_guy
(If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
To: MtnClimber
A rock outcrop called “Roc”?
Wonder how they came up with that name.
8
posted on
10/12/2020 4:55:53 PM PDT
by
blueunicorn6
("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
To: blueunicorn6
That Charles Dutton sitcom maybe ?
9
posted on
10/12/2020 4:59:29 PM PDT
by
fieldmarshaldj
(Want Stalinazism More ? PLUGS-WHORE 2020 !)
To: Pontiac
Just out of curiosity, what are ‘human spirs’???
10
posted on
10/12/2020 5:02:51 PM PDT
by
Jamestown1630
("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
To: Repeal The 17th
Yes, “scrutinized” is where they hid the link to a dog photo. They do that many times, but not always.
11
posted on
10/12/2020 5:06:45 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: Jamestown1630
Just out of curiosity, what are ‘human spirs’??? I don’t know to what you are referring.
Wrong post?
12
posted on
10/12/2020 5:11:51 PM PDT
by
Pontiac
(The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirs)
To: blueunicorn6
They were using the names of mythical birds.
13
posted on
10/12/2020 5:23:45 PM PDT
by
Fish Speaker
(Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
To: MtnClimber; Repeal The 17th
The Central Scrutinizer.
Frank Zappa was unavailable for comment.
14
posted on
10/12/2020 5:29:40 PM PDT
by
dayglored
("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
To: MtnClimber
It kind of looks like volcanic rock but there is no way volcanic activity ever existed on a rock 1,500 feet wide. Heck, volcanoes on Earth spit up rocks that big on occasion.
15
posted on
10/12/2020 5:37:39 PM PDT
by
TigersEye
(In all things ... trigger discipline.)
To: Pontiac
16
posted on
10/12/2020 5:40:46 PM PDT
by
Jamestown1630
("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
To: Jamestown1630; Pontiac
17
posted on
10/12/2020 5:44:30 PM PDT
by
Jamestown1630
("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
To: Jamestown1630
I am still lost.
Your first response was to my Post #6 which was:
Looks like a slag pile after cleaning out a coal fired boiler.
There are no ‘human spirs’ in that post.
18
posted on
10/12/2020 5:49:21 PM PDT
by
Pontiac
(The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirs)
To: Pontiac
LOL!
(The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirs)
19
posted on
10/12/2020 5:51:26 PM PDT
by
Jamestown1630
("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
To: Pontiac
“human spirs”
-
check your tagline...
20
posted on
10/12/2020 6:01:16 PM PDT
by
Repeal The 17th
(Get out of the matrix and get a real life.)
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