NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, launched in 2021 to explore the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter, has made a fascinating discovery during its journey. While passing by Jupiter, the spacecraft identified an asteroid named Dinky that has a smaller asteroid orbiting around it. This unique revelation has provided scientists with an ouroboros of cosmic curiosity.
Termed as a binary asteroid pair, Dinky, also known as Dinkinesh, was unexpectedly spotted by Lucy as it flew past. The sighting of the smaller “moon” orbiting the main asteroid was a surprising finding for the team. Jessica Sunshine, a planetary scientist at the University of Maryland, remarked that while a binary system was a possibility, it was not something they anticipated. Sunshine described the discovery as “really cool.”
Initially, the flyby was not intended to uncover any significant findings. It served as a trial run for the Lucy team to test their skills and ensure the spacecraft’s probe could successfully attach itself to space rocks, even when moving at high speeds. However, the test exceeded expectations, and Hal Levinson, the principal investigator of the Lucy mission and a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, labeled it as “amazingly successful.”
Despite the exciting discovery, NASA’s scientists still have a long way to go in their investigation. Only about one third of the relevant data has been transmitted back to Earth. While NASA has released a series of images showcasing Dinky and its pseudo-moon, no specific data has been shared at this stage.
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Nevertheless, even from the images, valuable information can be gathered about these celestial bodies. The main asteroid, Dinky aka Dinkinesh, exhibits a visible equatorial ridge, with a secondary ridge-line branching off from it. The surface of the parent asteroid is covered in craters, indicating past impacts by other asteroids. Levinson suggests that the forthcoming images of the secondary satellite will reveal even more intriguing characteristics, describing its shape as “really bizarre.”
Binary asteroid pairs are not uncommon, as researchers have discovered that around 15 percent of near-Earth asteroids have a companion satellite orbiting them. NASA and their affiliated researchers eagerly await additional data on this particular pair, including color images and spectroscopy, which will provide further insights into the nature of these two asteroids. Levinson assures that “there’s a lot of cool stuff to come.”
In the meantime, Lucy will continue on its original mission to study the mysterious Trojan asteroids near Jupiter. Its next destination is set for 2025 when it will make contact with one of these enigmatic objects.
The discovery of the binary asteroid pair has generated immense interest among scientists and space enthusiasts alike. This extraordinary finding showcases the dynamic nature of our solar system and raises intriguing questions about the formation and evolution of asteroids. With more data to come, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft promises to unearth even more remarkable discoveries, further enriching our understanding of the cosmos.
