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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
JAXA announcement: Itokawa sample return successful!
It's official: in a press release today, JAXA announced that some 1,500 dust grains scraped from the interior of Hayabusa's clean-looking sample return capsule are not of terrestrial origin so must be from Itokawa.
Five amazing engineering camera videos from Chang'E 2
I couldn't believe these videos when I first saw them: five views from engineering cameras of important events in the Chang'E 2 spacecraft's journey to the Moon.
First pictures from Chang'E 2 released
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced the success of Chang'E-2 lunar mission on Monday. Yong-Chun Zheng, an associate professor at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, presents the mission's first released pictures.
The Disturbance is Starting
Jupiter's faded belt may be coming back.
Opportunity bags a few craters
In the last few days, Opportunity's passed by several craters, and the rover drivers took advantage of the chance encounters for what they call
WISE's first brown (green?) dwarf
Look at the center of this star-studded image and you'll find an emerald green dot.
An awesome animation of Jupiter's clouds
Ready to see something beautiful? Here's a team effort by Björn Jónsson and Ian Regan to create a really mesmerizing view of the motions of Jupiter's clouds.
In which I finally write up last week's Deep Impact Hartley 2 press briefing
On Thursday, November 4, at 13:50 UTC, Deep Impact flew within 700 kilometers of comet Hartley 2. Hartley 2 is the smallest and most active of the five comets that have been directly by a spacecraft, and the first to be visited within the lifetime of its discoverer.
Fly over Mars
Adrian Lark has posted several new flights over gorgeous Martian landscapes to his Youtube channel. My favorite of his recent ones is this dive into Zumba crater.
Hartley 2 compared to other comets, and in motion 3D
I had to catch up with tasks left undone at home today and didn't have time to write up my notes from the Hartley 2 press briefing, for which I apologize. I'll leave you for the weekend with three cool Hartley 2 pictures.
Hartley 2's jets
It was a very happy set of scientists, engineers, managers, and administrators who filled the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Von Karman auditorium this afternoon to do the postgame show on Deep Impact's flyby of Hartley 2.
Deep Impact successfully passed closest approach, signal reaquired, data downlinking
Just a very brief update to congratulate the Deep Impact team on what was apparently a successful flyby of Hartley 2!
Close approach images of Hartley 2!
What a dramatic and cool photo! An asteroid with two lobes like Borrelly, lumpy and bouldery like Itokawa, with gorgeous active jets, dramatically lit. Well done, Deep Impact team!
Five close-approach images of Hartley 2 by Deep Impact, with commentary
Here's the five close-approach images of Hartley 2 captured today, November 4, 2010, by the Deep Impact spacecraft, collected into one file. Boy, do these images reward close examination!
Animation of the five closest-approach Hartley 2 images
Those of you who follow my blog must have known this was coming: now that I got all five new Deep Impact images of Comet Hartley 2 posted and explained, I had to make an animation. Here they are.
Deep Impact's encounter with Hartley 2 is beginning; flyby in 17 hours
According to the mission timeline, the Deep Impact high-resolution observations of Hartley 2 are beginning in just a few minutes, at 20:50 according to the clock on the spacecraft.
Dawn Journal: Approaching Conjunction
Continuing its journey to collect treats in the main asteroid belt, Dawn is making excellent progress toward its July 2011 rendezvous with protoplanet Vesta.
Deep Impact movies of outbursts from Hartley 2
Since comet Hartley 2 -- the target of Deep Impact's November 4 flyby -- is near its perihelion, it's no surprise that it's an active comet with lots of outbursts.
Rover news; Earth-size exoplanets; Future of Russian space
Just a linky post here.
Three days until Deep Impact's encounter with Hartley 2
The week is finally here: Deep Impact flies past Hartley 2, the smallest comet yet to be visited by a spacecraft, on Thursday, November 4 at 13:50 UTC.