2026-08-03 07:01 UTC
Unusual asteroid unmasked! 🪨
Using our VLT in Chile & the Large Binocular Telescope in the US, astronomers have resolved the shape of (44) Nysa, a peculiar asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.
They revealed a structure unlike anything observed before!
📹 ESO/K. Minker et al.
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#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science
Replies (1)
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@esoastronomy@mastodon.social 2026-08-03 07:01
(44) Nysa consists of 3 ‘lobes’, joined by two sections that encircle the asteroid, or ‘necks’. All previous identifications of asteroids with a neck have been interpreted as ‘bilobates’ (two lobes). Why this odd shape? Possible explanations: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/potw2631a/