[meteorite-list] Dawn Captures Video of Asteroid Vesta Approach

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:16:06 -0400
Message-ID: <BANLkTik+KZaP-cDaLH7vv3fE0qW4876T_g_at_mail.gmail.com>

It's starting to get exciting now! How much longer before it finally arrives?

Best regards,

MikeG

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Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer)

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On 6/13/11, Ron Baalke <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> wrote:
>
>
> June 13, 2011
>
> Dwayne Brown
> Headquarters, Washington
> 202-358-1726
> dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov
>
> Jia-Rui Cook
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
> 818-354-0850
> jccook at jpl.nasa.gov
>
> RELEASE: 11-182
>
> NASA SPACECRAFT CAPTURES VIDEO OF ASTEROID APPROACH
>
> WASHINGTON -- Scientists working with NASA's Dawn spacecraft have
> created a new video showing the giant asteroid Vesta as the
> spacecraft approaches this unexplored world in the main asteroid
> belt.
>
> The video loops 20 images obtained for navigation purposes on June 1.
> The images show a dark feature near Vesta's equator moving from left
> to right across the field of view as Vesta rotates. Images also show
> Vesta's jagged, irregular shape, hinting at the enormous crater known
> to exist at Vesta's south pole.
>
> To see the video, visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/dawn
>
> The images were obtained by a framing camera during a 30-minute period
> and show about 30 degrees of a rotation. The pixel size in these
> images is approaching the resolution of the best Hubble Space
> Telescope images of Vesta.
>
> "Like strangers in a strange land, we're looking for familiar
> landmarks," said Jian-Yang Li, a Dawn participating scientist from
> the University of Maryland, College Park. "The shadowy spot is one of
> those - it appears to match a feature, known as 'Feature B,' from
> images of Vesta taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope."
>
> Before orbiting Vesta on July 16, Dawn will gently slow down to about
> 75 mph (120 kph). NASA is expecting to release more images on a
> weekly basis, with more frequent images available once the spacecraft
> begins collecting science at Vesta.
>
> "Vesta is coming more and more into focus," said Andreas Nathues,
> framing camera lead investigator, based at the Max Planck Institute
> for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany. "Dawn's
> framing camera is working exactly as anticipated."
>
> The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
> Pasadena, Calif., for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in
> Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program,
> managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
> UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital
> Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the Dawn
> spacecraft. The framing cameras were developed and built under the
> leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in
> Katlenburg-Lindau, Germay.
>
> The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research in
> Berlin made significant contributions in coordination with the
> Institute of Computer and Communication Network Engineering in
> Braunschweig. The framing camera project is funded by the Max Planck
> Society, DLR and NASA.
>
> The video from Dawn also will air Monday afternoon on NASA
> Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules
> and links to streaming video, visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
>
> -end-
>
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--

Received on Mon 13 Jun 2011 05:16:06 PM PDT