Flyby

Asteroid Dinkinesh continues to surprise us. On Nov. 1, NASA's Lucy spacecraft zoomed past this space rock, marking the first of several asteroid encounters the probe is designed to make. Lucy's goal is to ultimately explore a set of asteroids near Jupiter, known as the Trojans, which are thought to hold clues about the earliest days of our solar system; these objects may be able to shed light on the origins of life on Earth. But, on the way to those Trojans, Lucy has a couple of stops — including Dinkinesh, which sits…

Artist’s representation of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission flying through precipitating electrons that can trigger X-ray auroras on the surface of Mercury. Credit: Thibaut Roger/EuroplanetThe joint European-Japanese mission, BepiColombo, has revealed how high-energy auroras on Mercury are formed. The research indicates that electrons, accelerated in Mercury’s magnetosphere and precipitating onto the planet’s surface, interact with the surface material to emit X-rays and produce the auroras. This discovery underscores the…

Despite being an icon in pop culture, our Sun’s closest neighboring planet, Mercury, has had a fairly boring life when it comes to space exploration. Thus far, only two NASA missions have explored the tiny planet. Now, the ESA and JAXA’s BepiColombo is giving us new glimpses of the first planet in our solar system. Three new images captured this week showcase the little planet in amazing detail. All three of the images are captured in black and white and are relatively small, especially compared to the large…

ESA/JAXA’s BepiColombo mission successfully completed its third flyby of Mercury, capturing valuable images of geological features including the newly named Manley Crater. Through ongoing ‘thruster arcs’, the spacecraft is gradually adjusting its trajectory for entering Mercury’s orbit in 2025. The mission’s main science phase will begin in early 2026 following several more adjustments and another flyby in 2024. (Artist impression of BepiColombo flying by Mercury.) Credit: ESA/ATG medialabThe ESA/<span…

A probe is familiarizing itselfwith the closest planet to the Sun, gearing up to explore Mercury’s heavily cratered surface. The BepiColombo mission recently captured stunning new images of Mercury during a close flyby, which resulted in the naming of an impact crater after a pioneering Jamaican artist.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewBepiColombo, a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), made its closest approach to…

This JunoCam image of the Jovian moon Io was collected during Juno’s flyby of the moon on March 1, 2023. At the time of closest approach, Juno was about 32,000 miles (51,500 kilometers) away from Io. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Kevin M. Gill (CC BY)The gas giant orbiter has flown over 510 million miles and also documented close encounters with three of <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Jupiter</div><div…

NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to fly by Jupiter's volcanic moon Io followed by a close encounter with the gas giant itself. This upcoming flyby will be the closest to date, with Juno reaching an altitude of approximately 22,060 miles (35,500 kilometres) above Io. The mission, now in its third year of an extended investigation into Jupiter's interior, will also investigate the ring system that houses some of the gas giant's inner moons. Juno has already completed 50 flybys of Jupiter and has collected valuable data during…

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) space program may still be in its infancy, but the oil-rich country has big plans to surpass its inaugural Mars mission. For its upcoming mission to the main asteroid belt, the Arab nation has revealed the names of the seven space rocks to serve as its targets.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewIn arecently revealed poster that will be presented at the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conference from June 18 to 23 in Arizona, the UAE Space Agency…

It took nearly 15 years for NASA’s New Horizons mission to reach the point where it is at today, around 50 times farther from the Sun than is Earth. From its unique observational perch, the spacecraft has been studying the frozen depths of the solar system to help piece together the origin story of the planets orbiting the Sun. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewAs the New Horizons spacecraft continues its journey at the outer edge of the solar system, uncertainty lies ahead.…

A number of asteroids pass close to the Earth almost every day, but only a few of them pose risk to humanity. Today, NASA has issued a warning that two dangerous asteroids are ready to make their close approach to Earth. According to CNEOS data, the first asteroid, named 2023 HK, which is about 42-foot in size, roughly the size of a bus, is moving at a rapid speed of 57338 kilometres per hour. The second asteroid, named 2023 HJ, a 34-foot space rock, is rushing towards Earth at a speed of 33031 kilometres per hour.…