BepiColombo Launch & Cruise Phase Options

[palebutdot]

Here's another view of Earth and Moon from BepiColombo earlier during the mission (cam_raw_sc_cam3_image_20200304t233732_13_f__t0080 to cam_raw_sc_cam3_image_20200305t233453_28_f__t0100)

https://archives.esac.esa.int/psa/

Attached File(s)

 BCEM.mp4 ( 36.02K ) Number of downloads: 1224

 

[Steve G]

BepiColombo flew by Venus today and snapped this black and white shot with its instrumentation in the foreground.

https://sci.esa.int/web/bepicolombo/-/bepic...-close-approach

[Marcin600]

And flyby video , (and here )



Can anyone help me understand what this movement is (in the visible part of the probe - the Mercury Planetary Orbiter’s magnetometer boom)? Photo artifact? A play of light?

below gif's - fragments cut from the "video":

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[JRehling]

My hypothesis would be that a small part of the spacecraft is blacked out in the darkness of shadow cast by another part of the spacecraft in some frames, and seems to "appear" when it is not in shadow.

[rhr]

Or maybe a specular reflection of venus from a flat, shiny surface that's normally reflecting black? I don't really see any shadows moving near that part.

[atomoid]

Similar to the Earth flyby sequence you can see a very thin line light up that part part of the magnetometer boom when lighting is right.
Can be seen much better in this model through camera #2.

[Marcin600]

Thanks for the suggestions and insights!

Here I found photos of the magnetometer boom (in the laboratory) with the sensor in question (there are actually two such sensors) - unfortunately without the Thermal Shielding.
This rectangular (in the shape of a cube or cuboid) Thermal Shielding is visible in these drawings and probably in this photo. I'm not sure, but maybe it is made of some translucent material (?)

Anyway, since no shadows are actually moving in the Venus flyby video, it seems likely to me that the two flashes seen in the video were caused by the reflection of the Venus disc from two consecutive parallel faces of this Thermal Shielding...