Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

@astroroyalscot.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor of Astrophysics, Edinburgh University. Author of How to Design a Universe. @astronomerroyal on insta (She/her)

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

🤩 image drop from Chinese Space Agency asteroid sample return mission #Tianwen-2 (Heavenly Questions-2)! It's now orbiting Kamoʻoalewa, just 18m across, looking for a place to land, drill, & return 100g back to Earth to see if this is a missing piece of the moon. Then it goes on to a comet 😮🧪🔭

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jvl3hb5wle4igkd4qgzk2wrt/post/3mpwsldndpk2f

A diagram of probe leaving earth (1), going to an asteroid and orbiting around it (2-4), heading back to Earth to drop off the sample (5-6) then carrying on to another comment (7-9). I don't read Chinese so I don't know what the captions say, but this is super-awesome!
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An image of asteroid Kamo'oalewa seen from 20 km away. It looks like a tiny crumbly piece of concrete rock, but it's actually 18m across. From: https://www.xinhuanet.com/20260706/eb8cbec6dfc94a0c84a24e6940334f1d/c.html
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

It's a day of fab asteroid news! 🤩 Image drop from yesterday's Japanese Space Agency JAXA high-speed close flyby of asteroid #Torifune (~450m across). This is the extension mission of #Hayabusa2, after its successful 2020 asteroid-sample collection from Ryugu. Next stop: another asteroid in 2031 🤩🔭🧪

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ok3ms3dzop7gcwejp7lswhpi/post/3mpxgtaogo22w

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

🤩 image drop from Chinese Space Agency asteroid sample return mission #Tianwen-2 (Heavenly Questions-2)! It's now orbiting Kamoʻoalewa, just 18m across, looking for a place to land, drill, & return 100g back to Earth to see if this is a missing piece of the moon. Then it goes on to a comet 😮🧪🔭

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jvl3hb5wle4igkd4qgzk2wrt/post/3mpwsldndpk2f

Looks a little bit like two misshapen Ferrero Rocher chocolates stuck together, but it's actually asteroid Torifune
ALT