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OSIRIS-REX Spacecraft Will Search for Earth-Trojan Asteroids!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016 4:33
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(Before It's News)

 

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When OSIRIS-REx passes near 
Earth’s L-4 point in February, 
on its way to asteroid Bennu, 
it’ll turn on its cameras to search for Trojan asteroids.
 Illustration via OSIRIS-REx/UA.
 
In February 2017, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will search for Earth-Trojan asteroids in the vicinity of Earth’s L-4 point while on its outbound journey to the asteroid Bennu.

Earth’s number of known Trojan asteroid might take a leap up (or not) in February 2017, when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft – on its two-year outbound journey to asteroid Bennu – passes near Earth’s gravitationally stable L-4 point. This point lies 60 degrees ahead of us in orbit. Asteroids should, in theory, gather near there. Between February 9 and 20, the NASA spacecraft – whose mission team is at University of Arizona (UA) – will activate its onboard camera suite and search for Earth-Trojan asteroids.

The L-4 point is a Lagrangian point in the Earth-sun system. It’s sometimes referred to as a gravity well. Objects caught in orbit around L-4 aren’t pulled closer to either the sun or the Earth. Instead, they maintain their configuration – near one tip of an equilateral triangle with the Earth and sun – always moving ahead of Earth in orbit.

Space mission planner take full advantage of the gravitationally stable Lagrangian points by placing spacecraft at them, or in orbit around them.

 

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In this illustration, our Earth and moon are inside the red circle. If there are Trojan asteroids traveling in Earth’s orbit (besides the 1 already known), they’ll be at L4 and L5. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Full article at:

 

http://news-uncensored-fresh.blogspot.be/2016/12/osiris-rex-spacecraft-will-search-for.html

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