Two days ago the space probe Lucy shot past the asteroid Dinkinesh... and found it has a satellite! Most of the apparent motion in this movie is caused by Lucy zipping by at 16,000 kilometers per hour.
Lucy is going on a grand tour of the asteroids:
On 3 December 2024 it will swing back past the Earth to get a gravity assist.
On 20 April 2025 it will visit Donaldjohanson, an asteroid in the inner belt that's part of a family created by a collision involving the asteroid Erigone 130 million years ago. Yes, some asteroids come in families!
On 12 August 2027 it will pass Eurybates, an asteroid near Jupiter's Lagrange point L4. Asteroids near L4 are called 'Greeks' and asteroids near the other Lagrange point, L5, are called 'Trojans'. Eurybates is the largest member of the only knoqn collisional family among the Greek or Trojan asteroids.
On 15 September 2027, Lucy will swing by Polymele, another Greek asteroid near Jupiter's L4 point. Its red color suggests it's covered with organic compounds called 'tholins', which also give the moon Titan its reddish haze.
On 18 April 2028 it will visit Leucus, another Greek. This is a D-type asteroid, very dark red.
On 11 November 2028 it will see Orus, another Greek. This may be a binary asteroid.
Then, after a while, on 26 December 2030, it will swing by Earth again for another gravity assist! It will be the the first spacecraft to return to Earth from Jupiter's orbit. The goal is to send it over to the Jupiter's other Lagrange point, L5, where the Trojan asteroids live.
On 2 March 2033, it will visit Patroclus–Menoetius, a binary Trojan.
Then Lucy will sail off into the night. For an animation of her trajectory, read on!
