Subj : Daily APOD Report To : All From : Ben Ritchey Date : Tue Nov 13 2018 08:43:42 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. 2018 November 13 Rotating Asteroid Bennu from OSIRIS-REx Image Credit: NASA [2] , GSFC [3] , U. Arizona [4] Explanation: Could this close-by asteroid ever hit the Earth? Eventually yes -- but probably not for a very long time, even though the asteroid is expected to pass inside the orbit of the Moon next century. However, to better understand [5] the nature and orbit of all near-Earth asteroids, NASA sent the robotic Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer [6] (OSIRIS-REx) to investigate this one: the 500-meter across asteroid 101955 Bennu [7] . Launched [8] in 2016, OSIRIS-REx [9] is now approaching Bennu, and is first scheduled to map the minor planet [10] 's rough surface. The featured time-lapse video [11] taken earlier this month compacts Bennu [12] 's 4.25-hour rotation period into about 7 seconds. Bennu's diamond-like appearance is similar to asteroid Ryugu [13] currently being visited by the Japan [14] ese spacecraft Hayabusa2 [15] . The exact future orbit of Bennu [16] is a bit uncertain [17] due to close passes near the Earth and the Yarkovsky effect [18] : a slight force [19] created by an object's rotationally-induced, asymmetric infrared [20] glow. If all goes according to plan [21] , ORISIS-Rx will actually touch the asteroid in 2020, collect soil samples, and return them to Earth [22] in 2023 for detailed analyses. Tomorrow's picture: blue cave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- < [23] | Archive [24] | Submissions [25] | Index [26] | Search [27] | Calendar [28] | RSS [29] | Education [30] | About APOD [31] | Discuss [32] | > [33] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [34] (MTU [35] ) & Jerry Bonnell [36] (UMCP [37] ) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [38] . NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [39] A service of: ASD [40] at NASA [41] / GSFC [42] & Michigan Tech. U. [43] ---------- Site notes: [1] archivepix.html [2] https://www.nasa.gov/ [3] https://www.nasa.gov/goddard [4] https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/research/orex [5] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/why-bennu-10-reasons [6] https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu [8] ap161017.html [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSIRIS-REx [10] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/asteroids/in-depth/ [11] https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/bennu-from-all-sides [12] https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/ osiris-rex-snaps-first-images-asteroid-bennu [13] ap180625.html [14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan [15] ap181101.html [16] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUgarROs08 [17] https://playnstaypetcamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Dog-at-Computer.jpg [18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarkovsky_effect [19] https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11964 [20] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves [21] https://www.asteroidmission.org/mission/ [22] ap181104.html [23] ap181112.html [24] archivepix.html [25] lib/apsubmit2015.html [26] lib/aptree.html [27] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search [28] calendar/allyears.html [29] /apod.rss [30] lib/edlinks.html [31] lib/about_apod.html [32] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=181113 [33] ap181114.html [34] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html [35] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ [36] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html [37] http://www.astro.umd.edu/ [38] lib/about_apod.html#srapply [39] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html [40] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ [41] https://www.nasa.gov/ [42] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ [43] http://www.mtu.edu/ --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A39 (Windows/32) * Origin: FIDONet - The Positronium Repository (1:393/68) .