NASA’s spacecraft Lucy will return to Earth on Sunday (Oct. 16) as a part of its 12-year-mission to go to a document variety of asteroids, and the occasion might be out there to stream dwell on-line.
The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 will livestream observations of Lucy from Italy starting at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT). Astronomy followers can entry the stream at no cost right here.
“Each time one thing attention-grabbing occurs up there, the Digital Telescope Challenge does its greatest to convey to the world the chance to take a look, in real-time. We’re significantly completely satisfied to share this time the Lucy fly-by,” Italian astrophysicist and founding father of the venture, Gianluca Masi, instructed Area.com. “It is going to be attainable for our viewers to identify one thing made by people on its journey of discovery. This spacecraft will assist us perceive the origin of our solar system by visiting asteroids.”
Associated: Meet the 8 asteroids NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will visit
Lucy is popping again residence for a gravity help that may slingshot it into a brand new orbit in preparation for trekking out towards the never-before-visited Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The return go to coincides with the one-year anniversary of Lucy’s launch on Oct. 16, 2021.
Lucy has approached Earth from the course of the sun, the place it can’t be seen. However on Sunday at 6:55 a.m. EDT (1055 GMT), the spacecraft will cross Earth’s terminator line, which separates evening and day. However Lucy will stay illuminated by the sun till 7:02 a.m. EDT (1102 GMT), briefly seen with the bare eye from North Western Australia, Timor-Leste and components of Indonesia.
Following its closest strategy at 7:04 a.m. EDT (1104 GMT), Lucy will transfer into Earth‘s shadow and disappear, then emerge at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT). From this level, Lucy will stay seen for between 12 and 24 hours with a telescope, however this may require clear viewing circumstances and exact coordinates, which can be found on NASA’s Horizon System app.
It’s at this stage of Lucy’s go to to Earth that the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 will broadcast its view, allowing skywatchers not situated in a positive areas, missing tools or just not eager to courageous the chilly October climate to look at Lucy cross the Earth.
“For me, Lucy whereas it makes a very good use of Earth utilizing its gravitational help to achieve its vacation spot is especially thrilling,” Masi stated. “I am at all times amazed to see and inform others about our means to navigate throughout outer space. It is a chance to grasp how a lot we’ve got realized to discover the cosmos, ranging from our neighborhood.”
Lucy will return to Earth once more in two years to get a second gravity help to push in direction of the six Trojan asteroids Leucus, Orus, Eurybates its satellite Queta, and Polymele its but unnamed satellite accomplice.
In 2030, Lucy will come again for a 3rd gravity help from Earth, which is able to ship it hurtling towards an encounter with the Patroclus-Menoetius binary asteroid pair.
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