moon

NASA’s Lucy mission: A space rock received a moon after a sun-triggered earthquake

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news of fascinating discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and more. CNN — Astronomers were in for a surprise when NASA’s Lucy mission flew past an asteroid named Dinkinesh in November and spotted a contact binary system — two smaller space rocks touching each other — … Read more

Asteroid Dinky, visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, has given birth to its own moon

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three grey space rocks in the blackness of space. the largest is alone on the left; the smaller two are on the right, touching one another

Scientists may have learned the story of the little one contact-binary moon asteroid in orbit 152830 Dinkineshwhich was the first space station for NASA Lucy spacecraft. This moonbird may have separated from its larger parent an asteroid when Dinkinesh was sent spinning through space after absorbing and re-emitting sunlight. After launching in 2021, the Lucy … Read more