NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew by asteroid Dinkinesh and made a surprising discovery, a close binary! Preliminary statistics ...

Image: NASA This is actually Lucy’s second gravity assist of Earth; its first occurred in October 2022 and enabled the spacecraft to swing by the small asteroid Dinkinesh. The upcoming gravity ...

Encountering the asteroid Dinkinesh and its moons. Credit must be given to the creator. Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted. Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

An asteroid the size of nine reindeer is set to pass over the Earth on Wednesday, Christmas, in what is set to be a relatively close holiday flyby, according to NASA's asteroid tracker.

The #LucyMission will perform its 2nd Earth-gravity assist on Dec. 12, putting it on a new course toward its first Trojan asteroid encounter in 2027. On the way, Lucy will pass through the main ...