Astronomy Picture of the Day: Rotating Asteroid Bennu from OSIRIS REx
Rotating Asteroid Bennu from OSIRIS REx Could this close-by asteroid ever hit the Earth? Eventually yes -- but probably not for a very long time, even though the asteroid is expected to pass inside the orbit of the Moon next century. However, to better understand the nature and orbit of all near-Earth asteroids, NASA sent the robotic Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) to investigate this one: the 500-meter across asteroid 101955 Bennu . Launched in 2016, OSIRIS-REx is now approaching Bennu, and is first scheduled to map the minor planet 's rough surface. The featured time-lapse video taken earlier this month compacts Bennu 's 4.25-hour rotation period into about 7 seconds. Bennu's diamond-like appearance is similar to asteroid Ryugu currently being visited by the Japan ese spacecraft Hayabusa2 . The exact f...