• Probe takes detailed pictures of crater-covered asteroid
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[QUOTE](CNN) -- A European space probe headed toward its next target Sunday after sending back detailed images of an asteroid that scientists hope will increase understanding of how the solar system evolved. Pictures of the asteroid Lutetia from the Rosetta probe's deep space fly-by Saturday are some of the most detailed ever taken, the European Space Agency said. The images, taken while the probe raced by at 15 kilometers (9 miles) per second, show a deeply pockmarked, irregular rock -- possibly left over from the birth of the solar system. Holger Sierks with the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research described the asteroid as "a very old object" in a statement Saturday. "Tonight we have seen a remnant of the solar system's creation," he said. The surface of the asteroid, shaped like a big potato, has deep craters covering its 130-kilometer length. The Rosetta craft came within 3,162 km (1,965 miles) of Lutetia, orbiting just beyond Mars. The probe spent several hours shooting images of the irregular shaped space rock, circling more than 450 million km (280 million miles) out from the sun. The space agency says its OSIRIS camera was able to capture detail down to just a few dozen meters. The next stop for the Rosetta spacecraft -- named for the stone that helped decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics -- is comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. If all goes according to plan, the probe will intercept the comet in 2014. The two will travel in tandem for several months as the comet hurtles from near Jupiter's orbit toward the Sun, with Rosetta finally touching down on the surface to take samples. [img]http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/europe/07/11/asteroid.images/t1larg.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/11/asteroid.images/index.html?hpt=T2[/url]
Thinking about space always makes my brain hurt.
[QUOTE=Rainhorror;23287148]Thinking about space always makes my brain hurt.[/QUOTE] Dude, I was just on a wikipedia binge on space, and right now my mind just can't take it all in. Mostly stuff on extraterrestrial life, exoplanets and active SETI.
If I saw that picture randomly on the internet I would think it was CGI.
Try to imagine galaxies colliding
I bet one of those craters would fit my dick. [editline]value[/editline] I bet I could fit my dick in those boxes you're giving me too.
[QUOTE=farmatyr;23287253]I bet one of those craters would fit my dick.[/QUOTE] So basically you have a kilometre-sized chode :downsbravo:
[QUOTE=farmatyr;23287253]I bet one of those craters would fit my dick.[/QUOTE] A pinhole would be enough.
The title cut off on the main page and I was really hoping it'd be "Probe takes detailed pictures of Uranus".
[QUOTE=Zeke129;23287396]The title cut off on the main page and I was really hoping it'd be "Probe takes detailed pictures of Uranus".[/QUOTE] I was hoping for Pluto.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;23287396]The title cut off on the main page and I was really hoping it'd be "Probe takes detailed pictures of Uranus".[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbGkvwEqqzE[/media]
[QUOTE=Rainhorror;23287148]Thinking about space always makes my brain hurt.[/QUOTE] Space is big. REALLY big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. :v: Sorry, made me think of that. That IS a detailed picture. It's amazing to think how old that may be.
[QUOTE=hl2poo;23287411]I was hoping for Pluto.[/QUOTE] Don't worry, those are yet to come New Horizons will arrive at pluto in 2015
inb4 2012. Really watch the people on youtube
[quote]detailed images of an asteroid that scientists hope will increase understanding of how the solar system evolved.[/quote] Silly scientists, god just put that asteroid there so we'd have something to look at!
This is pretty amazing that calculations can be made so precise that a loosely orbiting probe can intercept a comet perfectly in fours years time.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;23294017]This is pretty amazing that calculations can be made so precise that a loosely orbiting probe can intercept a comet perfectly in fours years time.[/QUOTE] Not to mention point a camera at it and take a picture when it gets there.
[QUOTE=RR_Raptor65;23305721]Not to mention point a camera at it and take a picture when it gets there.[/QUOTE] I find it mindblowing that we actually have pictures of Neptune.
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