NASA’s Lucy Mission Surprises Astronomers with 1st-ever Contact Binary Orbiting Asteroid
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has made an unprecedented discovery as it explored the asteroid Dinkinesh. In a groundbreaking observation on November 1, 2023, Lucy’s Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) captured images of Dinkinesh and its satellite, revealing that the satellite itself is a contact binary – composed of two smaller objects touching each other. This is the very first time that a contact binary has been observed orbiting another asteroid.
“Contact binaries seem to be fairly common in the solar system,” revealed John Spencer, Lucy deputy project scientist. “However, we’ve never seen one orbiting another asteroid. It’s truly puzzling and an unexpected finding for the scientific community.”
Lucy’s primary goal was to survey the never-before-visited Jupiter Trojan asteroids. However, the unexpectedly excellent performance of the tracking system at Dinkinesh enabled the team to make this fascinating discovery, which has brought about a new puzzle for the scientific community.
As Lucy continues its journey through space, this discovery serves as yet another reminder of the wonders and mysteries that the cosmos has to offer. Please stay updated as the mission unfolds.
