Rosetta flyby of Asteroid Steins, 5th September 2008 |
Rosetta flyby of Asteroid Steins, 5th September 2008 |
Jun 19 2008, 06:53 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 571 Joined: 20-April 05 From: Silesia Member No.: 299 |
Only 78 days to Stein encounter ! I can't believe I forgot about this event.
-------------------- Free software for planetary science (including Cassini Image Viewer).
http://members.tripod.com/petermasek/marinerall.html |
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Jul 7 2008, 08:17 PM
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#2
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 55 Joined: 8-November 06 From: Indiana, USA Member No.: 1337 |
The Cool thing about 2867 Steins is its type. We have never seen an “E” type asteroid at close range. Unfortunately, as you know, Steins is a tiny asteroid only 4.6 km in diameter.
There would be no point in approaching closer than the planned 800 km. Rosetta simply cannot track a body passing by so quickly. Remember, the spacecraft was designed to explore a comet while slowly orbiting the body. I look forward to seeing what this body looks like even if the images are only a few hundred pixels across. Likewise, the data from spectrometers and other instruments should keep us occupied until the next flyby. But, if you are looking for multi-image mosaics, you will have to wait for the 2010 flyby of 21 Lutetia. |
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