The Rosetta spacecraft, European Space Agency (ESA European Space Agency or, in English) has sent close-up photographs of asteroid Lutetia, a relic cratered coming the birth of the solar system. The images, which reveal a small universe of strange and captivating beauty, remain enthusiastic scientists.
"I've never seen anything like this" , said Claudia Alexander, U.S. researcher Rosetta project. "It looks as if it were detached from the parent asteroid, is all angles and plains, ancient impacts superimposed on the most recent, covered by some kind of dust."
In particular, Alexander is intrigued by the giant crack that is located on the side of the asteroid.
"My first thought was that it is the remnant of a huge shock occurred at some time in an already distant past, "says Alexander." The corners are shallow rather than sharp and deep, as in the case of a newly formed crater. Undoubtedly, it will be many more analysis of this feature over the coming weeks. "
And then there is the mysterious suspect that at some point in time the rocks rolled down on Lutetia saw.
" If that's what we're actually seeing, the question is: what was it that made it roll? Perhaps the asteroid rotated upward, rotated down, or experience any irregularities in its orbit. Not yet clear that the asteroid would be subject to the forces capable of causing these things. That is another issue that must be studied. "
" Right now we have more questions than answers, "continues Alexander . " At this point, we can only speculate about what we are seeing in Photos.
For many years, the asteroid Lutetia has been the target of interest among astronomers. It is one of the largest asteroids in the solar system and has a strange spectrum of reflected light that does not look anything like a another asteroid. As the Rosetta spacecraft will pass close to him on his path toward primary target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, mission planners could not pass up the opportunity.
Now that Alexander has seen the pictures, you can not help but wonder how it would ride on the asteroid's surface.
" For the astronauts would make it difficult to walk on Lutetia, there is probably much lower gravity on the Moon" she says. "Moreover, the surface regolith is very dusty, so that astronauts would sink about 2.5 centimeters on each step we took."
The MIRO (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter Microwave Instrument or for the Rosetta Orbiter), NASA, will help determine if the layers of the surface is dusty or rocky. As the researchers analyzed data provided by the other instruments of the Rosetta probe, may determine the mass and density of Lutetia, revealing much more information on the composition of the asteroid and helping to solve the riddle of their origin.
Is Lutetia planetary fragment of 130 km that broke off for billions of years? Or is it one of the original planetary building blocks, which astronomers call "planetesimals," which has remained in its initial state because he was never caught by any planet during the years of solar system formation?
As scientists begin to answer these questions, using data provided by the Rosetta probe, gain new insights about the origin and history of asteroids, and also learn much more about the evolution of the solar system itself. The content of an asteroid can reveal something about the conditions and composition of the solar nebula where the asteroid formed.
"Rosetta took measurements using 17 different instruments," says Rita Schulz, a research project of the ESA Rosetta mission. "Once you have analyzed all data, Lutetia will have become one of the known asteroids.
"These spectacular images," says , "are just the beginning."
Source: NASA
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