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Clearest ever photo on surface of Ryugu asteroid is giving people chills

Home> News> Science

Published 19:50 3 May 2024 GMT+1

Clearest ever photo on surface of Ryugu asteroid is giving people chills

Ryugu is believed to be 225,132,418 kilometres from Earth

Niamh Spence

Niamh Spence

Space is a funny thing, and to be honest, we've never really managed to see all of it.

Some parts of space still so distant that, whilst we know it's there, we don't know what it actually looks like.

There are planets, stars and asteroids that have been identified, but rarely seen including 162173 Ryugu.

Images of the Ryugu asteroid have been released. (
NASA JAXA / X/@MAstronomers)

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Ryugu is a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It measures approximately 900 metres in diameter and is a dark object of the rare spectral type Cb, with qualities of both a C-type asteroid and a B-type asteroid.

Currently Ryugu is 223,885,044 kilometers from Earth meaning its far enough away that it's not about to collide with us, but also far enough that we haven't ever been able to see it properly. It's believed to be round in shape with 'an equatorial ridge', and now it's been seen in one of the clearest images yet from NASA.

The photograph, shared on Twitter/X, was shared by others including an account called MAstronomers, which wrote with the post: "Clearest image ever taken of asteroid Ryugu. The pitch black background is scary..."

Replying to the post, one person shared: "A spacecraft went there, took samples and delivered them back to Earth. Crazy engineering!!"

Another person wrote: "Agree, the complete void of space is so unsettling."

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"Why does it look underwater???" asked a third.

The asteriod is believed to be 225,132,418 kilometers away from Earth. (NASA JAXA)
The asteriod is believed to be 225,132,418 kilometers away from Earth. (NASA JAXA)

Another wrote: "Parts of the inner solar system are the most friendly and hospitable parts of the entire universe. Safety and survivability exist within a fairly narrow envelope, even on earth.

"And outside our thin atmosphere, space is still a hostile, nightmarishly deadly environment that's trying to kill you every second." Cheery.

This isn't the only space picture that has caused a stir, as a photograph of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, has been shared from NASA.

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The infrared vision of the James Webb Space Telescope has made it possible to get the best possible look at Titan although it's still pretty blurry and not in focus.

NASA said: "Titan is unique in the solar system. It is the only planetary body other than Earth that has rivers, lakes, and seas.

"Rather than water, they are made up of 'hydrocarbons', molecules like ethane and methane.

"The two clouds seen by Webb validate long-held predictions that clouds form in the northern hemisphere during Titan's late summer, when the Sun warms its surface. Follow-up observations by the Keck Observatory also revealed clouds, confirming seasonal weather patterns."

Featured Image Credit: (NASA JAXA / X/@MAstronomers)

Topics: Science, Space

Niamh Spence
Niamh Spence

Journalist.

X

@missnspence

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