Unveiling Astonishing Discoveries: NASA's Surprising Encounters with Asteroids
TL;DR
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.
- ‘Puzzling’ discovery spotted in new images from NASA mission’s asteroid flyby Yahoo! Voices
- What? Wow! That New Asteroid Image from Lucy Just Got Even More Interesting Universe Today
- Another Surprise From NASA's Lucy Asteroid Encounter: “We Never Suspected Anything So Bizarre!” SciTechDaily
- NASA spacecraft found a surprise within a surprise Mashable
- Newfound 'moon' around asteroid Dinkinesh is actually two tiny moons touching Livescience.com
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