NASA spacecraft discovers tiny moon around asteroid during close flyby
The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists _ a mini moon
By MARCIA DUNN
Published - Nov 03, 2023, 11:13 AM ET
Last Updated - Nov 03, 2023, 11:13 AM EDT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The little asteroid visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists.
It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick — a mini moon.
The discovery was made during Wednesday’s flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The spacecraft snapped a picture of the pair when it was about 270 miles out (435 kilometers).
In data and images beamed back to Earth, the spacecraft confirmed that Dinkinesh is barely a half-mile (790 meters) across. Its closely circling moon is a mere one-tenth-of-a-mile (220 meters) in size.
