#PPOD: This image was taken by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft's MINERVA-II-b rover ("OWL") as it bounced across the surface of the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 23 September 2018. Each bounce lasted about 15 minutes, in which time the tiny rover covered about 15 meters. Credit: JAXA
"Extinction Mechanisms" by @XKCD comic speculates about a less likely scenario on how the #asteroid might have killed the dinosaurs🦖🦕🌠. (Certainly some got hit. It didn't have to directly target them all to get them all.) https://xkcd.com/2845/#astronomy#LowFlyingRocks#WTF
Did you guys also know that #comets aren't special and aren't traveling any faster than any other #asteroid or other object out there, and they're not hot or on fire?
They're actually ice #balls, and the #sun makes the ice evaporate and then the solar wind (particles from the sun) blows that "atmosphere" away from the sun, creating the tail.
The tail doesn't even have anything to do with the direction that the ice ball is moving! The tail blows away from the sun. That's it.
A comet is literally a solar windsock.
Why did they never teach us this in school? Why did they allow us to think that comets were special fireballs moving at the speed of light across the galaxy?
Anyway, tonight and tomorrow night is the #Orionid Meteor Shower, which apparently is made up of debris from #Halley's #Comet. That's what got me on this topic.
Here is a map of some nearby asteroids now familiar to us and a few active spacecraft in the solar system.
Itokawa - Visited by Hayabusa, 2005, sample returned
Ryugu - Visited by Hayabusa2, 2018-19, sample returned
Bennu – Visited by OSIRIS-REx, 2019-21, sample returned
Didymos – Rammed by DART spacecraft, 2022
Dinkinesh – Planned flyby by Lucy on Nov 1, 2023
Apophis – Target of OSIRIS-APEX, 2029
Psyche – Target of Psyche mission, 2029
Die NASA schickt eine Sonde zum Asteroiden "Psyche" ins All. Die Mission soll auch neue Erkenntnisse über den Aufbau des Inneren der Erde bringen. Von Uwe Gradwohl.
Please reflect on this for a moment. We sent machines into space, collected material from asteroids, brought those samples back to our planet, and are now analyzing the contents. Yeah. We did that.
Human beings have so much potential. I’d love to see us tap into more of this good stuff that we do.
Asteroid Bennu: NASA findet Wasser und Kohlenstoff in Gestein
Wasser und Kohlenstoff - wichtige Bausteine des Lebens. Spuren davon wurden in dem Asteroidenstaub entdeckt, den die "Osiris-Rex"-Sonde zur Erde gebracht hat. Von Uwe Gradwohl.
NASA shows off its first asteroid samples delivered by a spacecraft.
AP reports: "Scientists anticipated getting a cupful but are still unsure how much was grabbed from the carbon-rich asteroid named Bennu, almost 60 million miles (97 million kilometers) away."
Asteroid Bennu: NASA findet Wasser und Kohlenstoff in Gestein
Vor drei Wochen brachte eine NASA-Sonde ein halbes Pfund Gestein vom Asteroiden Bennu zurück zur Erde. 200 Wissenschaftler werten die Probe seitdem aus - Wasser und Kohlenstoff haben sie schon finden können.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample collection from asteroid Bennu exceeded expectations in material quantity, slowing the curation process. Advanced analysis methods are underway, with a more detailed examination planned for the coming weeks. The initial curation process for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample of ast
OSIRIS-REx’s Overflowing Treasures: A Stellar Surprise From Asteroid Bennu (scitechdaily.com)
NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample collection from asteroid Bennu exceeded expectations in material quantity, slowing the curation process. Advanced analysis methods are underway, with a more detailed examination planned for the coming weeks. The initial curation process for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample of ast