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Credit & Copyright: Lucy/NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns
Hopkins APL/NOIRLab
Explanation:
Main belt asteroid
52246
Donaldjohanson
is about 8 kilometers long and 3.5 kilometers across.
On
April 20, this sharp close-up
of the asteroid was captured at a distance
of about 1100 kilometers by the Lucy spacecraft's long range camera
during its second asteroid encounter.
Named after
American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson,
discoverer of the Lucy hominid fossil,
the elongated asteroid was likely formed about 150 million years ago
from a gentle collision of two smaller bodies creating its
characteristic contact binary shape.
Launched in October of 2021,
the Lucy spacecraft
will continue its travels through the main asteroid belt in 2025,
but is on its way to explore Jupiter's swarm of
Trojan asteroids.
Lucy is expected to encounter its first Trojan asteroid target,
3548
Eurybates,
in August 2027.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: asteroid
Publications with words: asteroid
See also: