Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2019 March 12
                         Touchdown on Asteroid Ryugu
                            Video Credit: JAXA [2]

Explanation: Last month, humanity bounced a robot off an asteroid. The main
reason was to collect a surface sample. Despite concern over finding a safely
reboundable [3]  touchdown spot, Japan [4] 's robotic Hayabusa2 [5]
spacecraft successfully touched down [6]  -- and bounced right back from --
asteroid Ryugu. Before impact, Hayabusa2 fired a small bullet into 162173
Ryugu [7] to scattered surface material and increase the chance that Hayabusa2
[8]  would be able to capture some. Next month, Hayabusa2 will fire [9]  a
much larger bullet into Ryugu [10]  in an effort to capture sub-surface
material. Near the end of this year, Hayabusa2 is scheduled to depart Ryugu
[11]  and begin a looping trip back to Earth, hopefully returning small pieces
of this near-Earth asteroid [12]  in late 2020. Studying Ryugu [13]  could
tell humanity [14] not only about the minor planet [15] 's surface and
interior, but about what materials were available in the early Solar System
[16]  for the development of life [17] .

                        Tomorrow's picture: spring sky

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [29] (MTU [30] ) & Jerry Bonnell [31]
                                  (UMCP [32] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [33] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [34]
              A service of: ASD [35]  at NASA [36]  / GSFC [37]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [38]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] http://global.jaxa.jp/about/index.html
  [3] ap181101.html
  [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
  [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa2
  [6] http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/ha...
  [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_Ryugu
  [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3hO58HFa1M&t...
  [9] http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/ha...
  [10] ap180924.html
  [11] ap180822.html
  [12] ap181113.html
  [13] http://global.jaxa.jp/article/2014/interview/...
  [14] https://twitter.com/haya2e_jaxa
  [15] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/ast...
  [16] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our...
  [17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis
  [18] ap190311.html
  [19] archivepix.html
  [20] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [21] lib/aptree.html
  [22] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [23] calendar/allyears.html
  [24] /apod.rss
  [25] lib/edlinks.html
  [26] lib/about_apod.html
  [27] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [28] ap190313.html
  [29] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [30] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [31] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [32] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [33] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [34] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [35] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [36] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [37] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [38] http://www.mtu.edu/

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