European Space Agency: Rosetta Probe Meets Lutetia Asteroid

On Saturday, the European Space Agency and its Rosetta space probe, made some history. The Rosetta passed the Lutetia asteroid and the OSIRIS camera took some amazing pictures.

The Lutetia is the largest asteroid that has been recorded in this fashion. Over 282 million miles from Earth, past Mars, the Lutetia and the Rosetta came within almost 2000 miles of each other. They passed each other at speeds of approximately 9 miles per second. The OSIRIS camera took pictures for several hours. These pictures are the most detailed, of its kind, ever captured.

The Lutetia is thought to be very old. It is 75 miles long, covered in indentations, and is an odd, potato shaped asteroid. Due to its age, scientists think they can gain a large amount of information about the beginnings of the solar system.

The pictures taken are being described as majestic. The details of the asteroid are still up for debate. Some images portray the asteroid as being little changed since it formed, while others may prove that the asteroid has metals which would indicate an asteroid that has gone through changes during its existence. Its even a possibility that Lutetia is just a partial piece of a much larger asteroid.

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