Earlier this month, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft whipped by Earth because it carried out a flyby on its option to the Trojan asteroids within the orbit of Jupiter. While it was passing by, it snapped pictures of each the Earth and the moon as seen from area. NASA not too long ago shared these pictures with the general public.

Lucy is visiting the asteroids within the orbit of Jupiter to be taught in regards to the formation of the photo voltaic system, but it surely’s an extended journey to succeed in there. The spacecraft was launched in October 2021, and it’s taking a complicated path across the photo voltaic system to succeed in the asteroids over the course of 12 years. As a part of this journey, Lucy swung again round Earth to get a gravity increase to assist carry it on its means.

As Lucy handed Earth on October 15, it took this picture of our planet with its black and white Terminal Tracking Camera (T2CAM) system. This is a pair of cameras which is designed to trace the asteroids it would ultimately be learning, however the pair had been additionally in a position to seize a good looking picture of Earth. Taking pictures of identified targets such because the Earth or of the view out into area is helpful for calibrating the devices, and Lucy even managed to seize a lunar eclipse from area earlier within the yr as properly.

A second picture taken with the identical digital camera system on October 13 reveals each the Earth and the moon as seen from practically 900,000 miles away.

Lucy has now carried out its first Earth flyby and headed again out into the photo voltaic system, however two additional Earth flybys are scheduled for December 2024 and December 2030. Lucy is about to carry out a flyby of its first asteroid goal, asteroid Donaldjohanson (named after paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson who found the Lucy Australopithecus fossil), in April 2025.

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