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Comet chaser has close encounter with asteroid
Topic Started: Sep 6 2008, 07:12 PM (31 Views)
XNavyGunner	Sep 6 2008, 07:12 PM Post #1
Gunner Posts: 1,505 Group: Forum Reporter Member #89 Joined: September 5, 2006 Gender Male	The Rosetta spacecraft, which is due to land on a comet in 2015, flew within 800km of an asteroid known as Steins, orbiting in our solar system more than 220 million miles from Earth. Images beamed from the spacecraft show the diamond shaped asteroid looming like a threat from the famous Asteroids computer game before the deeply pockmarked surface becomes clear. It has provided scientists with their closest look at an asteroid to date. Huge impact craters up to 1.2km wide can be seen covering the surface of the 3 mile diameter asteroid in a far higher concentration than would be expected for such a small object. "There is also a chain of seven craters that we would not expect to see on such a small body," said Professor Uwe Keller, a principal investigator at the European Space Agency (ESA), which is behind the Rosetta mission. "We normally see craters like this on moons like our own. We have to look at why they are there, but clearly Steins has a complex collision history. The colour of Steins is essentially grey but it is a little bit reddish. It is also larger than we expected." Scientists hope to glean clues about how our solar system formed and evolved from the data that Rosetta has sent back about Steins. On Earth much of the information from the early days of the solar system has been wiped away by the activity of earthquakes and volcanoes, but on asteroids this has been preserved. Scientists are also keen to get a better understanding of the size, shape, composition, spin and behaviour of asteroids because of the threat they pose to the Earth. There are around 800 near Earth objects currently being monitored that are feared to pose some kind of threat. Asteroids have regularly struck our planet in the past and major impacts are thought to be behind the mass extinctions of species such as the dinosaurs. By comparing the data from the Rosetta mission with observations from Earth, astronomers hope they will better able to predict the trajectories and threats posed by passing asteroids in the future. It may also provide clues on how to destroy them if they come too close. Gael Winters, director of operations and infrastructure at the ESA, said: "There is a lot of interest in looking at these objects as they have the unpleasant characteristic of impacting on the Earth from time to time. "Scientists are looking at what effect such an impact would be on our planet." Rosetta flew within 223 miles of Steins at a speed of 19,263 miles per hour late on Friday night. The team behind the Rosetta mission faced significant challenges in getting the spacecraft so close to the asteroid at such high speeds. The £600 million Rosetta spacecraft, which was blasted into space in March 2004, will continue its mission to the 2.5 mile wide comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko where in 2015 it will land a small aircraft on the surface to study the comet's chemistry. In 2005 NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft obtained the closest images of a comet yet achieved when it smashed a rocket into it. David Southwood, director of science operations at ESA, added: "This is a first big step towards our exploration of asteroids and comets. "They are small, so you may ask why it is worth studying, but our solar system grew out of objects like this." Source
Mystical	Sep 7 2008, 03:16 AM Post #2
Goddess of Mystery Posts: 3,082 Group: Global Moderators Member #416 Joined: June 25, 2007 Gender Female	This was a very interesting article XNavy. I wasn't even aware that they had sent a craft up to do this? Need to pay more attention I guess.
	never fear the dead, fear the living! They are more dangerous "Trust me"
XNavyGunner	Sep 7 2008, 05:58 PM Post #3
Gunner Posts: 1,505 Group: Forum Reporter Member #89 Joined: September 5, 2006 Gender Male	I didn't know either. It seems we were left out of the loop.
Mystical	Sep 7 2008, 11:50 PM Post #4
Goddess of Mystery Posts: 3,082 Group: Global Moderators Member #416 Joined: June 25, 2007 Gender Female	yeah we usually are left outta the loop till they screw something up then we are told and they sensationalize it.
	never fear the dead, fear the living! They are more dangerous "Trust me"
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