Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 2014 February 9 - The Missing Craters of Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
Where are the craters on asteroid Itokawa?
Missing -- unexpectedly.
The Japanese robot
probe Hayabusa
approached the
Earth-crossing asteroid in 2005 and
returned pictures showing a surface unlike any other
Solar System
body yet photographed -- a surface possibly devoid of
craters.
The leading hypothesis for the lack of
common circular indentations is that
asteroid Itokawa is a
rubble pile -- a bunch of rocks and ice chunks only loosely held together
by a small amount of gravity.
If so, craters might not form so easily -- or be filled in whenever the
asteroid gets jiggled by a passing planet or struck by a massive meteor.
Recent Earth-based observations of asteroid Itokawa have shown that one part
of the interior even has a
higher average interior density than the other part, another
unexpected discovery.
The Hayabusa mission returned soil samples from
Itokawa
which are also giving clues the ancient history of the
unusual asteroid
and our entire Solar System.
APOD: 2012 November 6 - Methone: Smooth Egg Moon of Saturn
Explanation:
Why is this moon shaped like a smooth egg?
The robotic Cassini spacecraft completed the first flyby ever of Saturn's small moon
Methone
in May and discovered that the moon has no obvious craters.
Craters, usually caused by impacts, have been seen on every
moon,
asteroid, and comet nucleus
ever imaged in detail -- until now.
Even the Earth and
Titan have
craters.
The smoothness and egg-like shape of the
3-kilometer diameter moon might be caused by
Methone's
surface being able to shift --
something that might occur were the moon coated by a deep
pile of sub-visual
rubble.
If so, the most similar objects in our Solar System would include Saturn's moons
Telesto,
Pandora,
Calypso, as well as asteroid
Itokawa,
all of which show sections that are unusually smooth.
Methone
is not entirely featureless, though, as some surface sections
appear darker than others.
Although flybys of Methone are
difficult, interest in the nature and
history of this unusual moon is sure to continue.
APOD: 2010 June 19 - Stereo Itokawa
Explanation:
Get out your
red/blue
glasses and float next to
asteroid Itokawa,
a diminutive world of the solar system only half a kilometer
across.
Boulders strewn across its rough surface and the lack of craters
indicate that this asteroid is a
rubble pile,
formed as smaller
pieces collected and were kept together by gravity.
The stereo view was constructed
from images made by the Hayabusa
spacecraft when it
encountered the asteroid in 2005.
After a long journey, the spacecraft
re-entered the atmosphere on June 13
over Australia,
successfully parachuting a capsule to Earth.
Hayabusa's capsule could
contain a small sample of material from
rubble pile asteroid Itokawa.
APOD: 2007 April 22 - Smooth Sections on Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
Why are parts of this asteroid's surface so smooth?
No one is yet sure, but it may have to do with the dynamics of an
asteroid that is a loose
pile of rubble rather than a solid rock.
The unusual asteroid
has been visited recently by the
Japanese spacecraft
Hayabusa
that has been documenting its unusual structure and mysterious
lack of craters.
Recent analyses of the border regions
between smooth and rugged sections of Itokawa indicate that jostling of the asteroid might be creating segregation between large and small rocks near the surface, like the
Brazil nut effect.
In late 2005, Hayabusa actually touched down on one of the smooth patches, dubbed the MUSES Sea, and
collected soil samples that are to be returned to Earth for analysis.
Hayabusa will start its three-year long
return trip
to Earth this month.
Computer simulations show that 500-meter asteroid Itokawa
may impact the Earth within the next few million years.
APOD: 2005 December 28- Smooth Sections on Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
Why are parts of this asteroid's surface so smooth?
No one is yet sure, but it may have to do with the dynamics of an
asteroid that is a loose
pile of rubble rather than a solid rock.
The unusual asteroid is currently being visited by the
Japanese spacecraft
Hayabusa
that is documenting its unusual structure and mysterious
lack of craters.
Last month, Hayabusa actually touched down on one of the smooth patches, dubbed the MUSES Sea, and
collected soil samples that will eventually be returned to Earth for analysis.
Unfortunately, the robot Hayabusa craft has been experiencing
communications problems and so its
departure for Earth has been delayed until 2007.
Computer simulations show that 500-meter asteroid Itokawa
may impact the Earth within the next few million years.
APOD: 2005 November 21 - The Missing Craters of Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
Where are the craters on asteroid Itokawa? No one knows.
The Japanese robot
probe Hayabusa recently
approached the
Earth-crossing asteroid and is
returning pictures showing a surface unlike any other
Solar System
body yet photographed -- a surface possibly devoid of
craters.
One possibility for the lack of
common circular indentations is that
asteroid Itokawa is a
rubble pile -- a bunch of rocks and ice chunks only loosely held together
by a small amount of gravity.
If so, craters might be filled in whenever the
asteroid gets jiggled by a passing planet --
Earth in this case.
Alternatively, surface particles may become
electrically charged by the Sun, levitate in the
microgravity field,
and move to fill in craters.
Over the weekend,
Hayabusa lowered itself to the surface of the
strange asteroid in an
effort to study the unusual body and collect surface
samples that could be returned to Earth in 2007.
APOD: 2005 November 16 - A Robots Shadow on Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
What's that unusual looking spot on asteroid Itokawa? It's the shadow of the
robot spacecraft Hayabusa
that took the image.
Japan's
Hayabusa mission
arrived at the
asteroid
in early September and has been imaging and maneuvering around the
floating space mountain ever since.
The above picture was taken earlier this month.
Asteroid Itokawa
spans about 300 meters.
One scientific goal of the
Hayabusa mission
is to determine out how much ice, rock and trace elements reside on the
asteroid's surface, which should give indications about how asteroids and
planets formed in the early Solar System.
A can-sized robot MINERVA that was scheduled to hop
around the asteroid's surface has
not, so far, functioned as hoped.
Later this month,
Hayabusa is scheduled to descend to asteroid Itokawa and collect surface samples in a
return capsule.
In December, Hayabusa will fire its rockets toward Earth and drop the
return capsule down to Earth's
Australian outback in 2007 June.
APOD: 2005 September 19 - Approaching Asteroid Itokawa
Explanation:
What are asteroids made of?
To help find out,
Japan's
JAXA space agency launched the
Hayabusa mission to
rendezvous with
asteroid Itokawa.
Last week, the small robotic Hayabusa spacecraft arrived at asteroid
Itokawa and stationed itself only 20 kilometers away.
Although a long term goal is to find out how much ice, rock and trace
elements reside on the asteroid's surface, a shorter term goal is to
determine the mass of the asteroid by measuring the attraction of the drifting
Hayabusa spacecraft.
During the next few months,
Hayabusa will also image and map asteroid Itokawa as it orbits the Sun.
The above time-lapse image sequence was taken by Hayabusa upon final approach,
showing the general oblong shape of the
asteroid.
In November, a small coffee-can sized robot dubbed
MINERVA is scheduled for release and is expected to hop around the asteroid taking pictures.
Also in November, Hayabusa will fire pellets into
asteroid Itokawa
and collect some of the debris in a return capsule.
In December, Hayabusa
will fire its rockets toward Earth and drop the
return capsule to Earth in 2007 June.