Tour of Asteroid Bennu

1 year ago
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The video is about the asteroid Bennu, which was visited by the NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-REx in December 2018. The mission planners had predicted that Bennu would be made of loose material weakly clumped together by gravity, and shaped like a spinning top. This was confirmed by the close-up images taken by OSIRIS-REx.
However, the scientists were surprised to find that Bennu's surface was rugged and littered with boulders of various sizes. They had expected the surface to consist of fine-grained material like a sandy beach.
The passage then goes on to describe the laser altimetry data and high-resolution imagery from OSIRIS-REx, which can be used to take a tour of Bennu's remarkable terrain.
Here is a more detailed explanation of the key points in the passage:
• Bennu is made of loose material weakly clumped together by gravity. This means that it is not a solid rock like Earth, but rather a collection of loose rocks and dust that are held together by gravity.
• Bennu is shaped like a spinning top. This is called an oblate spheroid shape. It is caused by the centrifugal force created by Bennu's rotation.
• Bennu's surface is rugged and littered with boulders. This is a surprise to scientists, who had expected the surface to be smooth and sandy.
• OSIRIS-REx has collected laser altimetry data and high-resolution imagery of Bennu. This data can be used to create a detailed map of Bennu's surface and to study its features.
Video provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of asteroids. Bennu is a unique and remarkable object, and the data collected by OSIRIS-REx is helping scientists learn more about it.

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