NASA releases first close-up view of asteroid Donaldjohanson

Measuring about 8km long and only about 3.5km across at its widest point, the celestial body resembles a misshapen bowling ball and is much larger than initially thought.

On April 21, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a series of new images transmitted by the Lucy spacecraft from its closest approach to an asteroid, revealing its unusual shape and many surprising details.

These are the first close-up images of the asteroid. Previously, NASA only had remote observation data.

According to NASA, the asteroid, named Donaldjohanson, is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

At around 8km long and just 3.5km across at its widest point, the asteroid resembles a misshapen bowling ball and is much larger than initially thought. However, the first images do not yet show the asteroid’s full shape.

NASA is expected to receive more data from Lucy next week to analyze Donaldjohanson's shape and structural features in more detail.

Previously, the Lucy spacecraft flew past Donaldjohanson on April 20 at a distance of 960km.

The asteroid is named after the American paleontologist (Donald Johanson) who discovered the fossil "Lucy" in Ethiopia in 1974.

Lucy was first launched by NASA in 2021 on a mission to explore Trojan asteroids near Jupiter's orbit, opening up new perspectives on the formation of the Solar System.

Lucy's mission to explore eight asteroids will last until 2033./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nasa-cong-bo-can-canh-dau-tien-ve-tieu-hanh-tinh-donaldjohanson-post1034307.vnp