Last year in November, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on its mission to study asteroid Dinkinesh, found out that it is actually a binary. That little piece of rock hidden behind asteroid Dinkinesh or Dinky was named Selam by astronomers. Since then, experts have been studying the little moonlet for more information.

In one such study, they tried to estimate the age of Selam and found out that it is actually a toddler. According to their calculations, the tiny Selam which&nbsp;separated from its larger companion Dinky about&nbsp;2 to 3 million years back is way younger than known.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/were-neanderthals-spiritual-and-religious-netflix-documentary-secrets-of-the-neanderthals-explores-717631">Were Neanderthals spiritual and religious? Netflix documentary has some answers</a>

"Finding the ages of asteroids is important to understanding them, and this one is remarkably young when compared to the age of the solar system, meaning it formed somewhat recently," Colby Merrill, a doctoral student at Cornell University, said in a statement.&nbsp;

<h2>How astronomers found&nbsp;Selam is a toddler&nbsp;</h2>

Merill and team have been investigating the newly found asteroid’s dynamics and began constructing a model of how Selam orbits Dinkinesh. They found out that Selam orbits Dinkinesh in loosely packed debris ejected by the asteroid. Assuming that this is the origin of Selam, the team used a model to estimate the asteroid’s age.&nbsp;

Generally, astronomers date an asteroid by counting the number of impact craters on its surface- the more the craters, the longer&nbsp;an asteroid has been around to receive those impacts. But Merrill and his colleagues used a different method.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/change-6-china-launches-historic-mission-to-collect-samples-from-far-side-of-the-moon-717698">Chang’e-6: China launches historic mission to collect samples from far side of the Moon</a>

They simulated Selam forming from Dinkinesh under a range of different starting conditions and waited until Selam reached the orbit that Lucy glimpsed last November.

The team simulated 1 million scenarios that resulted in a Selam-like body forming. The median scenario dated Selam as 3 million years old, while the most common answer was closer to 2 million. “If either of these figures is correct, Selam may actually be younger than Lucy's namesake, the 3.2-million-year old human ancestor Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Ethiopia in the 1970s”, concludes the team.

"Obtaining the age of this one body can help us to understand the population as a whole,” Merrill further said.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/lost-in-space-satellite-missing-since-1990s-located-in-earths-orbit-how-can-someone-lose-a-satellite-717732">'Lost in space': Satellite missing since 1990s located in Earth's orbit. How can someone lose a satellite?</a>

The authors published their work in the journal Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics on April 5.

For Lucy, it has only begun its tour of the solar system. The next asteroid on its itinerary, located between Mars and Jupiter, is 52246 Donaldjohanson, which Lucy will visit in 2025.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Last year in November, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on its mission to study asteroid Dinkinesh, found out that it is actually a binary. That little piece of rock hidden behind asteroid Dinkinesh or Dinky was named Selam by astronomers.

Last year in November, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on its mission to study asteroid Dinkinesh, found out that it is actually a binary. That little piece of rock hidden behind asteroid Dinkinesh or Dinky was named Selam by astronomers. Since then, experts have been studying the little moonlet for more information. In one such study, they tried to estimate the age of Selam and found out that it is actually a toddler. According to their calculations, the tiny Selam which separated from its larger companion Dinky about 2 to 3 million years back is way younger than known. Also Read | Were Neanderthals spiritual and religious? Netflix documentary has some answers "Finding the ages of asteroids is important to understanding them, and this one is remarkably young when compared to the age of the solar system, meaning it formed somewhat recently," Colby Merrill, a doctoral student at Cornell University, said in a statement. How astronomers found Selam is a toddler Merill and team have been investigating the newly found asteroid’s dynamics and began constructing a model of how Selam orbits Dinkinesh. They found out that Selam orbits Dinkinesh in loosely packed debris ejected by the asteroid. Assuming that this is the origin of Selam, the team used a model to estimate the asteroid’s age. Generally, astronomers date an asteroid by counting the number of impact craters on its surface- the more the craters, the longer an asteroid has been around to receive those impacts. But Merrill and his colleagues used a different method. Also Read | Chang’e-6: China launches historic mission to collect samples from far side of the Moon They simulated Selam forming from Dinkinesh under a range of different starting conditions and waited until Selam reached the orbit that Lucy glimpsed last November. The team simulated 1 million scenarios that resulted in a Selam-like body forming. The median scenario dated Selam as 3 million years old, while the most common answer was closer to 2 million. “If either of these figures is correct, Selam may actually be younger than Lucy's namesake, the 3.2-million-year old human ancestor Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Ethiopia in the 1970s”, concludes the team. "Obtaining the age of this one body can help us to understand the population as a whole,” Merrill further said. Also Read | 'Lost in space': Satellite missing since 1990s located in Earth's orbit. How can someone lose a satellite? The authors published their work in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on April 5. For Lucy, it has only begun its tour of the solar system. The next asteroid on its itinerary, located between Mars and Jupiter, is 52246 Donaldjohanson, which Lucy will visit in 2025. (With inputs from agencies)

Asteroid Dinkinesh's duo Selam spotted by NASA's Lucy spacecraft turns out to be cosmic toddler

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past asteroid Dinkinesh on Nov 1, marking its first flyby since its launch. But to everyone’s surprise, asteroid Dinkinesh is not one but actually made up of two tiny space rocks. This means, Lucy has flown past two small asteroids in a single shot, making this a one-of-a-kind event in space exploration.&nbsp;

Lucy zoomed by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, also known as Dinky, on Wednesday and sent back its images to Earth. These images revealed that Dinkinesh has an even smaller space rock orbiting it, which is essentially its "satellite".&nbsp;Scientists at NASA were amazed at this discovery and called it “marvellous.”

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-sizeable-hole-spotted-in-parachute-used-by-astronauts-landing-from-tiangong-space-station-watch-654309">China: Sizeable hole spotted in parachute used by astronauts landing from Tiangong space station. Watch</a>

Han Levinson, who is the principal investigator for Lucy from Southwest Research Institute, said, “Dinkinesh really did live up to its name; this is marvellous.” He was referring to the meaning of Dinkinesh in the Amharic language, “marvellous.”

<h2>Asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a binary unit</h2>

This discovery doesn’t come as a surprise to NASA scientists though, as the Lucy team has been wondering for quite a long time if Dinkinesh might be a binary unit, i.e., is it made up of two extremely tiny space rocks? The observation was based on Lucy's instrument’s readings as it measured a change in the brightness with time. But as the images came, all doubts were cleared.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is why we explore. Turns out that asteroid Dinkinesh is… asteroids Dinkinesh? During the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LucyMission?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LucyMission</a>’s first asteroid flyby on Nov. 1, we discovered that the main belt asteroid is a party of two, or binary pair! <a href="https://t.co/3aYWLvWmOw">https://t.co/3aYWLvWmOw</a> <a href="https://t.co/IX2ZHHtRdK">pic.twitter.com/IX2ZHHtRdK</a>
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASolarSystem/status/1720143596811104371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Dinkinesh is a close binary. From a preliminary analysis of the first available images, the team estimates that the larger body is approximately 0.5 miles (790 m) at its widest, while the smaller is about 0.15 miles (220 m) in size, NASA said in a press release.

The team believe that this encounter has served as an in-flight test of the spacecraft, specifically focusing on testing the system that allows Lucy to autonomously track an asteroid while flying past at 10,000 mph. This system is referred to as the terminal tracking system.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/this-is-what-earth-will-look-like-if-it-surpasses-the-climate-threshold-and-it-will-happen-soon-654355">New study paints a scary scenario for when Earth passes the 1.5 degree threshold</a>

“This is an awesome series of images. They indicate that the terminal tracking system worked as intended, even when the universe presented us with a more difficult target than we expected,” said Tom Kennedy, guidance and navigation engineer at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado.

The Lucy team will now take another week to completely unravel, or in this case, downlink all the data coming from the spacecraft. The team will use this data to evaluate the spacecraft’s behaviour during the encounter and to prepare for the next close-up look at the main belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson, in 2025.

(With inputs from agencies)

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past asteroid Dinkinesh on Nov 1, marking its first flyby since its launch. But to everyone’s surprise, asteroid Dinkinesh is not one but actually made up of two tiny space rocks.

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past asteroid Dinkinesh on Nov 1, marking its first flyby since its launch. But to everyone’s surprise, asteroid Dinkinesh is not one but actually made up of two tiny space rocks. This means, Lucy has flown past two small asteroids in a single shot, making this a one-of-a-kind event in space exploration. Lucy zoomed by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, also known as Dinky, on Wednesday and sent back its images to Earth. These images revealed that Dinkinesh has an even smaller space rock orbiting it, which is essentially its "satellite". Scientists at NASA were amazed at this discovery and called it “marvellous.” Also Read | China: Sizeable hole spotted in parachute used by astronauts landing from Tiangong space station. Watch Han Levinson, who is the principal investigator for Lucy from Southwest Research Institute, said, “Dinkinesh really did live up to its name; this is marvellous.” He was referring to the meaning of Dinkinesh in the Amharic language, “marvellous.” Asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a binary unit This discovery doesn’t come as a surprise to NASA scientists though, as the Lucy team has been wondering for quite a long time if Dinkinesh might be a binary unit, i.e., is it made up of two extremely tiny space rocks? The observation was based on Lucy's instrument’s readings as it measured a change in the brightness with time. But as the images came, all doubts were cleared. This is why we explore. Turns out that asteroid Dinkinesh is… asteroids Dinkinesh? During the #LucyMission’s first asteroid flyby on Nov. 1, we discovered that the main belt asteroid is a party of two, or binary pair! https://t.co/3aYWLvWmOw pic.twitter.com/IX2ZHHtRdK — NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) November 2, 2023 × Dinkinesh is a close binary. From a preliminary analysis of the first available images, the team estimates that the larger body is approximately 0.5 miles (790 m) at its widest, while the smaller is about 0.15 miles (220 m) in size, NASA said in a press release. The team believe that this encounter has served as an in-flight test of the spacecraft, specifically focusing on testing the system that allows Lucy to autonomously track an asteroid while flying past at 10,000 mph. This system is referred to as the terminal tracking system. Also Read | New study paints a scary scenario for when Earth passes the 1.5 degree threshold “This is an awesome series of images. They indicate that the terminal tracking system worked as intended, even when the universe presented us with a more difficult target than we expected,” said Tom Kennedy, guidance and navigation engineer at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado. The Lucy team will now take another week to completely unravel, or in this case, downlink all the data coming from the spacecraft. The team will use this data to evaluate the spacecraft’s behaviour during the encounter and to prepare for the next close-up look at the main belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson, in 2025. (With inputs from agencies)

Asteroid Dinkinesh has its own moon, pictures sent by Lucy mission show

nasas-lucy-mission

Nasa's Lucy Mission, News on Nasa's Lucy Mission, stories on Nasa's Lucy Mission, articles on Nasa's Lucy Mission, Nasa's Lucy Mission stories at Wion, Nasa's Lucy Mission news, Nasa's Lucy Mission latest news

nasas lucy-mission

Asteroid Dinkinesh's duo Selam spotted by NASA's Lucy spacecraft turns out to be cosmic toddler

Asteroid Dinkinesh has its own moon, pictures sent by Lucy mission show