Lucy Images Dinkinesh ahead of November flyby

Dinkinesh moving againsted the background stars. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hokins APL

NASA's Lucy spacecraft has taken its first images of the asteroid Dinkinesh. Spelt ድንቅነሽ in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia, Dinkinesh means "you are marvelous." The asteroid was named shortly after it was announced as the first target for NASA's Lucy mission. Dinkinesh is actually another name for the famous Lucy skeleton, which is the namesake of the Lucy spacecraft. Dinkinesh will help the Lucy spacecraft test out its instruments for future asteroid flybys. 

The images were taken on Sept 2 and 5 this year, at a distance of around 23 million kilometres from the asteroid. Dinkinesh is small, less than a kilometer in diameter. Lucy will get to within 425 Kilometres of Dinkinesh at closest approach on  November 1, 2023. In these images, Dinkinesh is around 150,000 times dimmer than the brightest star that can be seen, HD 34258.

Lucy will make a flyby of another main-belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson, in 2025, before it images its first trojans in 2026.

Dinkinesh compared with Steins and Bennu. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/ESA

The Target

• Date Discovered: 1999
• Designation: 152830 Dinkinesh (1999 VD57)
• Class: Main-Belt Asteroid
• Radius: ~350 Meters
• Rotational Period: Unavailable
• Orbital Period: 1185.01 Days (3.24 Years)