Astronomy Tuesday

This is the shadow of the Hayabusa2 explorer on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, in October 2018.

Image credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo and collaborators

Astronomy Tuesday

I know I had a picture of galaxies last week, but I could not resist the sheer joy of this image, as if the universe were throwing the best New Year's Eve party ever.

The Hubble image shows a random patch of sky, containing thousands of galaxies. The curves and squiggles are nearby asteroids photobombing the deep space image, like astronomical confetti.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, and B. Sunnquist and J. Mack (STScI)
Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI) and the HFF Team

Astronomy Tuesday

I like this image because it's not obvious what it is.

The Japaneses space agency's Hayabusa2 mission has landed two small rovers on the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu. That's the asteroid surface on the left; the rovers move around by hopping and landing several meters away. This picture was taken mid-hop.

Image Credit and Copyright: ISAS, JAXA, Hayabusa2 Mission