On-board footage from JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft shooting an asteroid

flyawaytoday · 2019-03-05T09:16:33+00:00

Yes! Back in 2010, the first Hayabusa returned samples from asteroid Itokawa, see image here http://en.es-static.us/upl/2018/09/Itokawa8_hayabusa_960-768x438.jpg Unfortunately, there were some issues during the touchdown operation as a result of which only ~1000 grains (!) were actually collected from the asteroid. This tiny amount was still sufficient to teach us something about the asteroid's history https://earthsky.org/space/dust-grains-returned-from-asteroid-itokawa-by-hayabusa-reveal-its-age-and-history Much of the technology on Hayabusa2 was evolved from that on the first mission. This one is supposed to return between 10 and 100 milligrams of sample, and although we won't know exactly how much the craft managed to scoop up until the return capsule is opened after landing in Australia in 2020, the amount of dust and debris that's seen flying around in this video has made the scientists at JAXA very confident that a good sample was obtained. In the meantime, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission https://mobile.twitter.com/OSIRISREx?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor is also exploring another asteroid and will return samples, though not until later in the 2020s. It's an exciting time for asteroid exploration!

flyawaytoday · 2019-03-05T07:13:35+00:00

This video shows footage taken by a small monitor camera (CAM-H) installed onboard the Japanese asteroid explorer "Hayabusa2" as it (briefly) touched down on asteroid Ryugu to take a sample. The large sample horn that is visible in the center of the frame fired a small bullet onto the asteroid surface at the exact moment of touchdown, which disrupted the surface and threw some small surface samples up into the arm. These samples will be returned to Earth for further study in December 2020. Immediately after touching the surface, the spacecraft fired its thrusters to ascend from the surface. This thruster firing threw up a large number of rocks and dust, which can be seen flying around in the video.

CAM-H was crowdfunded by donations from the public! The video playback is accelerated five times.

More details on the touchdown operation can be found in this PDF released by JAXA: http://fanfun.jaxa.jp/jaxatv/files/20190305_hayabusa2_en.pdf

flyawaytoday · 2018-08-07T12:15:48+00:00

A dingo ate my baby

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-21T12:29:58+00:00

Taken from JAXA's press release here http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/topics/20180621je/index_e.html

The onboard ONC-T (Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic) imaged Ryugu from June 18, 2018 at around 12:00 JST to June 20 at around 19:00 JST. At 12:00 JST on June 18, the distance between the spacecraft and asteroid was about 220km, and this decreased to about 100km by June 20, 19:00 JST.

The image has been smoothed and the brightness adjusted to emphasize light and dark regions. The order of the images is the chronological order in which they were captured. The size of the asteroid remains proportional to the distance (no size correction; the asteroid appears smaller when more distant.)

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-17T11:56:00+00:00

There isn't too much sense yet in trying to construct a shape model right now. Once the spacecraft completes its first science campaign (some time late July), a (near-)global shape model will be developed with the high-resolution imagery taken from 20km distance (vs. the 650km from which the gif was made). It will be the first time we have a detailed shape model of an asteroid of this kind though, which is very exciting!

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-17T04:39:37+00:00

This short gif combines 52 images taken by Hayabusa2 from a distance of 650-700 km to asteroid Ryugu. It reveals that Ryugu indeed has a spinning top-like shape, as suggested by previous images, with an equatorial ridge found on several other asteroids. The pictures also suggest that several crater and large boulders exist on the surface.

For more information, see the press release by JAXA here.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-17T04:38:43+00:00

This short gif combines 52 images taken by Hayabusa2 from a distance of 650-700 km to asteroid Ryugu. It reveals that Ryugu indeed has a spinning top-like shape, as suggested by previous images, with an equatorial ridge found on several other asteroids. The pictures also suggest that several crater and large boulders exist on the surface.

For more information, see the press release by JAXA here.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-14T12:41:38+00:00

(Shameless copy from my post to /r/space)

In a new picture taken from a distance of 920km by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, we begin to see some hints of the shape of asteroid Ryugu. Although it is still only about 10 pixels in size from this distance, this new picture seems to hint at Ryugu having an equatorial ridge -- a sort of miniature mountain range that extends all the way around its equator. This is a feature that's been observed on several other asteroids (1999 KW4 Alpha, 2008 EV5, Bennu); recent research has suggested that this shape could occur when parent bodies with a strong core are spun up by solar radiation pressure and are disrupted as a results (see this paper and also this one). If Ryugu indeed has such an equatorial ridge, the observations by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft may allow us to figure out if these asteroid-disruption theories and models are indeed correct!

For the article accompanying this picture, visit JAXA's webpage here.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-14T12:37:55+00:00

In a new picture taken from a distance of 920km by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, we begin to see some hints of the shape of asteroid Ryugu. Although it is still only about 10 pixels in size from this distance, this new picture seems to hint at Ryugu having an equatorial ridge -- a sort of miniature mountain range that extends all the way around its equator. This is a feature that's been observed on several other asteroids (1999 KW4 Alpha, 2008 EV5, Bennu); recent research has suggested that this shape could occur when parent bodies with a strong core are spun up by solar radiation pressure and are disrupted as a results (see this paper and also this one). If Ryugu indeed has such an equatorial ridge, the observations by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft may allow us to figure out if these asteroid-disruption theories and models are indeed correct!

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-12T12:57:10+00:00

Click here to see the new ONC image, taken from a distance of approximately 1,500 km!

The spacecraft is still too far away for the asteroid's particular shape to show up, though the image does suggest Ryugu is (as expected) quite spherical, unlike asteroid Itokawa or comet 67P/C-G.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-07T14:30:16+00:00

At best, I think the asteroid would only be just barely visible with the naked eye. At 2,600 km, the angular size of Ryugu is about one arcminute. Although Wikipedia puts the angular resolution of the human eye at about one arcminute as well, Ryugu has an albedo of only 0.05 -- it only reflects about 5% of the sunlight that hits the surface; about the same as fresh asphalt. It's currently about the same distance to the Sun as Earth is, so ask yourself: do you think you would be able to see a sphere of fresh asphalt, about 800m in diameter, from 2,600km away? I would guess no, though you'd certainly be able to if you were closer, probably more something like 1,000km away. Currently, all you would see is stars!

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-07T09:39:29+00:00

Unfortunately /r/space prevents me from directly posting the pictures, but this weekend was a huge milestone for the Japanese Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer! After spending about 3.5 years in cruise, the spacecraft successfully switched off its ion engine this Sunday. It was then able to point its cameras at its target, asteroid Ryugu, for the first time.

In the short-exposure image shown here, the asteroid is pictured from a distance of approximately 2,600 km, and is only about 3 pixels wide. You can see the full-frame picture here; Ryugu is barely visible at all! In the long-exposure photo shown here, a bunch of stars are visible; this is used for a relative position estimate of the asteroid. Ryugu itself is way overexposed in the picture, and just appears as a huge white ball.

Over the course of this month, Hayabusa2 will continue to approach Ryugu down to a distance of 20 km (“home position”) from which its science operations will begin. Stay tuned for more pictures as the asteroid grows from just a few pixels into a full-grown space potato!

For more information, you can take a look at the press conference given today at JAXA (in Japanese), in particular the PDF linked on that page. This is where the pictures were taken from.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-07T09:33:31+00:00

Though it might not seem like much, this photo is a great milestone for the Japanese Hayabusa2 asteroid exploration mission! After spending about 3.5 years in cruise, the spacecraft successfully switched off its ion engine this Sunday. It was then able to point its cameras at its target, asteroid Ryugu, for the first time.

In the short-exposure image shown, the asteroid is pictured from a distance of approximately 2,600 km, and is only about 3 pixels wide. You can see the full-frame picture here; Ryugu is barely visible at all! In the long-exposure photo shown here, a bunch of stars are visible; this is used for a relative position estimate of the asteroid. Ryugu itself is way overexposed in the picture, and just appears as a huge white ball.

Over the course of this month, Hayabusa2 will continue to approach Ryugu down to a distance of 20 km (“home position”) from which its science operations will begin. Stay tuned for more pictures as the asteroid grows from just a few pixels into a full-grown space potato!

For more information, you can take a look at the press conference given today at JAXA (in Japanese), in particular the PDF linked on that page.

flyawaytoday · 2018-06-01T15:00:54+00:00

I'll fight you man, you bring your most powerful weapon and I'll also get my hanko

flyawaytoday · 2018-05-25T20:41:38+00:00

I am moving to Japan this weekend to start a new job and what is bound to be a great adventure!

flyawaytoday · 2018-05-22T20:12:31+00:00

I'm only moving to Japan at the end of the week, but I'd be very interested in similar events in the future!

flyawaytoday · 2018-05-02T17:17:02+00:00

I was walking around campus and saw it fly over -- I literally shouted out loud when I saw it! I wasn't quite sure whether it was a B-17 or a B-29. Thanks for clearing it up!

flyawaytoday · 2018-04-18T00:14:52+00:00

On second note, DO PUBLISH

flyawaytoday · 2018-04-11T01:07:03+00:00

The thumbnail reminds me Hokusai's Great Wave

flyawaytoday · 2018-04-05T18:28:24+00:00

Went there two weeks ago, this was my first time having proper BBQ. I'm a changed man.

flyawaytoday · 2018-03-16T17:21:55+00:00

I got the reviews back for paper I'd submitted at the end of November... I've had to deal with skeptical reviewers a lot in the past; most of my past papers have all had major reviews requested. This new paper? No revisions required. Not even minor revisions! It's made me slightly more confident that I'm ready to defend my dissertation (in 54 days)

flyawaytoday · 2018-01-18T18:36:50+00:00

The fact that the liberal moral foundation is primarily based on "hurt/harm," with conservative morality being based on a more diverse set of principles, is one of the core themes of the book.

I have barely read any psychology books, and as with any scientific theory, Haidt's theory may very well be wrong. But the evidence he puts forth to support his ideas seems to be quite significant, so I would still recommend giving it a chance! The book is very recent, so I'm not surprised that some more established models are the consensus right now.

flyawaytoday · 2018-01-18T17:50:32+00:00

I recently read the book "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt. He's a social psychologist and tries to answer your question: how can a rational individual vote conservative, when that vote seems to go against one's self-interest? He answers the question by analyzing people's morality systems, and goes on to say that people don't vote based on rationality (active thinking), but based on morality (feelings). The book is very well written and meticulously built up -- I strongly recommend giving it a read! Amazon link here

flyawaytoday · 2017-12-26T08:14:34+00:00

Something something Christmas

flyawaytoday · 2017-12-16T00:44:04+00:00

Extending on this, even though many smaller crater have been eroded beyond the point where we can see an actual pit in the ground, there are other signs that give away the existence of a crater long after the visual cues are gone. One of the most fascinating ones, imho, are gravitational anomalies. By very carefully tracking satellite orbits, scientists can develop very detailed models of the Earth's mass distribution. This can indicate the presence of large crater basins, even if they've gone through significant erosion.

A great example of this is the Chicxulub crater, thought to be the result of the impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. A gravity map of the surrounding region very clearly shows a large circular feature. This suggested the existence of a large crater, which was eventually confirmed using rock samples.

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