Asteroid : 'Unmasked By Space Probe Flyby'

(July 11) - A European spacecraft  zoomed by- pasted a mysterious asteriod Saturday to take the first ever close look at the space rock while flying 282 million miles from earth.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta space probe flew past the asteroid 'Lutetia',  an object discovered in 1852 that appeared only as a bright speck in the sky to astronomers until today.
The first new photos of the asteriod  revealed 'Lutetia' to be a lumpy  rock with  a patoto-like appearance . Rosetta was about  1,900 miles (3,100 km) from the asteroid at it's closest approach.
This photo of the asteroid 'Lutetia,' which was taken from a distance of about 80,000 km during a flyby by Europe's comet probe Rosetta  on  saturday, is one of the closest shots ever taken of the asteroid.
The enigmatic space rock, which is about 62 miles (100 km) wide, is from the main asteroid belt that  orbits between Mars and Jupiter. From Earth, Lutetia simply appears as  little more than a single point of light to ground-based telecopes.
As a result , not much was known about 'Lutetia', including what it looked like. Data from Rosetta's encounter could provide more conclusive evidence  about the asteroid's dimensions and composition.
"We know approximately its size and  approximately its size and  rotational period," Rosetta project scientist Rita Schulz said in a live webcast during the probe's flyby. The rotational period is something like 8 hours, and that will be confirmed after the flyby. We are now going to get the details. What is very important for us now is the composition of the asteroid.
The asteroid flyby was actually a pit stop for Rosetta, which continued on toward its main target - comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The spacecraft launched in 2004 and is expected to arrive at the comet in 2014. Rosetta also visited a different space rock, the asteriod Steins, in 2008.
The closest encounter occurred at approximately 1610 GMT (12:10 pm. EDT) with Rosetta traveling at a relvative speed of 32,400 mph (52,142 kph)  ESA scientists were able to track  Rosetta up to five minutes to closest approach, after which the radio signal  with the probe was lost as the spacecraft turns its antenna away from earth and faces the asteroid instead. After approximately 40 mintues , a series of maneuvers restored the antenna's Earth lock and the probe  began successfully transmitting data  and telemetry back to its ground controllers once again. The close pass allowed Rosetta about two hours of observation time to scrutinize the asteroid 'Lutetia.'
Roseta will continue beaming this data to Earth, and  the first close-up pictures  from the quick visit are expected to be released later tonight. Preliminary images from ESA were released in the lead up to the  encounter, showing 'Lutetis' looming larger and larger as Rosetta approached within about 49,000 miles (80,000 km)
The data collected from Rosetta's visit will provide valuable observations for asteroid science, and will at least give  scientists preliminary information that can then be corroborated through groung-based observations. And, the finding will not only apply for 'Lutetia, but for other asteroids as well.
My spin :  keep watching the skies and who knows  you just may see  a new star being born..
Kicking back having fun and keeping it real... hey I maight see an alien...oh boy, now that will be a hoot .