Page 1 of 1

APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:06 am
by APOD Robot
Image Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia

Explanation: What would it look like to approach an asteroid in a spaceship? In 2010, ESA's robotic Rosetta spacecraft zipped past the asteroid 21 Lutetia taking data and snapping images in an effort to better determine the history of the asteroid and the origin of its unusual colors. Recently, many images from a camera always facing the asteroid were compiled into the above video. Although of unknown composition, Lutetia is not massive enough for gravity to pull it into a sphere. The 100-kilometer across Lutetian was at that time the largest asteroid or comet nucleus that has been visited by a human-launched spacecraft. Orbiting in the main asteroid belt, Lutetia shows itself to be a heavily cratered remnant of the early Solar System. Now well past Lutetia, the Rosetta spacecraft is continuing onto comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko where a landing is planned for 2014.

<< Previous APODDiscuss Any APOD Next APOD >>
[/b]

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:08 am
by lsinclair
Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta? I believe your statement about Lutitia being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 7:41 am
by eltodesukane
lsinclair wrote:Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta? I believe your statement about Lutitia being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.
Vesta rotation video: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/ves ... nMovie.asp

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:54 am
by Flase
And there's a spelling mistake in the title.

Still asteroids are cool

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:44 am
by Uwe
Sure these are original pictures taken by Rosetta? Unusual colors indeed. Looks like an artificial 3D-Simulation (blender?) to me (and not a very god one too) 8-)

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:36 pm
by Guest
Great video!

What is the reason for the abrupt changes in orientation?
Course corrections by the probe?
It seesm to be on a collison course at first.

John

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:43 pm
by orin stepanek
lsinclair wrote:Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta? I believe your statement about Lutitia being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.
from wiki

The Rosetta probe passed within 3,162 km (1,965 mi) of Lutetia in July 2010.[7] It was the largest asteroid to be visited by a spacecraft until the Dawn mission arrived at 4 Vesta in July 2011.

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:04 pm
by LinuxGuyInVA
For a few minutes, it seemed the embedded video was on vimeo; the one of the geostationary satellites from the swiss alps.

Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea [sic]

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:19 pm
by neufer
lsinclair wrote:
Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta?

I believe your statement about Lutitia [sic] being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.
http://www.behindthename.com/name/letitia wrote:
Letitia: from the Late Latin name Laetitia which meant "joy, happiness". This was the name of an obscure saint, who is revered mainly in Spain. It was in use in England during the Middle Ages, usually in the spelling Lettice, and it was revived in the 18th century.

VARIANTS: Lettice, Latisha
DIMINUTIVES: Letty, Lettie, Titty, Lecia, Tisha
orin stepanek wrote:
wiki wrote:
The Rosetta probe passed within 3,162 km (1,965 mi) of Lutetia in July 2010.

It was the largest asteroid to be visited by a spacecraft until the Dawn mission arrived at 4 Vesta in July 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutetia wrote:
<<Lutetia (also Lutetia Parisiorum in Latin, Lukotekia before, in French Lutèce) was a town in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul. The Gallo-Roman city was a forerunner of the re-established Merovingian town that is the ancestor of present-day Paris. Lutetia and Paris have little in common save their position where an island, the Île de la Cité, created a convenient ford of the Seine.

There is an asteroid named 21 Lutetia; and the element lutetium was named after the city, in honor of its discovery in a Paris laboratory. Lutetium (71Lu) is the last element in the lanthanide series, which explains several important properties of lutetium, such as it having the highest hardness or density among lanthanides. Since Lutetia was a Roman city, 21 Lutetia's craters are named after cities of the Roman Empire and the adjacent parts of Europe during the time of Lutetia's existence. Its regions are named after the discoverer of Lutetia (Goldschmitt) and after provinces of the Roman Empire at the time of Lutetia. Other features are named after rivers of the Roman Empire and the adjacent parts of Europe at the time of Lutetia.

The primitive Λουκοτοκία (Strabon), Λευκοτεκία (Ptolemeus), Lutetia (Caesar) maybe contain the Celtic root *luco-t- 'mouse' + -ek(t)ia ='the mice', Breton logod, Welsh llygod, Irish luch (cf. Bibracte, *bibro 'beaver' + -acti = 'the beavers') or another Celtic root luto-, luteuo- 'marsh', 'swamp' (Gaelic loth 'marsh', Breton loudour 'dirty') like in Lutudarum (Derbyshire, England); Lodève (Luteua); Ludesse

Somewhere in the immediate area was the chief settlement or oppidum of the Parisii, a Gallic people who settled in the area during the 3rd century BC. However, dendrochronological study of wooden pilings beneath the lowest stratum of the Roman north-south axis date the road's construction after 4 AD, more than fifty years after the Roman pacification of the region.

Roman Lutetia was founded above the flood-prone point where the Bièvre stream reaches the river Seine, centered on the slopes of the hill later dedicated to Saint Genevieve, on the left bank of the Seine (modern-day Latin Quarter). There were outlying suburbs on an island across from the confluence, the Île de la Cité, which was the Merovingian and modern centre of Paris.

The town was captured by the Roman Republic in 52 BC during the conquest of Gaul under Julius Caesar. The Lutetians backed the revolt of Vercingetorix against the Romans under Caesar, reportedly contributing 8,000 men to Vercingetorix's army. It was garrisoned by Vercingetorix's lieutenant Camulogenus, whose army camped on the Mons Lutetius (where the Panthéon is now situated). The Romans crushed the rebels at nearby Melun and took control of Lutetia.

Under Roman rule, Lutetia was thoroughly Romanised with a population estimated at around 8,000 people. It did not have a great deal of political importance - the capital of its province, Lugdunensis Senona, was Agedincum (modern Sens, Yonne). It was Christianised in the 3rd century, traditionally when St Denis became the city's first bishop. The process was not entirely peaceful - in about 250 St Denis and two companions were arrested and decapitated on the hill of Mons Mercurius, where Roman foundations have been found, thereafter known as Mons Martyrum (Martyrs' Hill, or Montmartre).

Lutetia was renamed Paris in 360, taking its name from the Gallic Parisii tribe name. The name had already been used for centuries as an adjective ("Parisiacus"). The legend of the Breton city of Ys suggests a different, if less likely, origin. Around the same time, the city quarter on the left Seine bank, which housed the baths, the theatres and the amphitheatre, was gradually abandoned with the population being concentrated on the island, which received new fortifications. The classical theater began to be dismantled during the 4th century.

Very little is now left of the ancient city although more is currently being discovered. In a small park on high ground in the Latin Quarter of the Left Bank, tucked behind apartment blocks, one may still see some remains of the 1st century amphitheatre (Arènes de Lutèce). Furthermore, there are the remains of public baths at the Musée de Cluny (frigidarium with vault intact and caldarium) and the Early Christian archeological crypt under the Notre Dame forecourt, now Place of Pope John-Paul II.

In May 2006, a road dating back 2,000 years was discovered at the site of Lutetia during expansion of the campus on University of Pierre and Marie Curie. The National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research is currently excavating the site. During the excavation, remains of private houses containing Roman baths and heated floors were found. Over the next few weeks, however, archaeologists were to pull up the ruins to make way for a research center. Everyday items like flowerpots, bronze chains, ceramics, and drawer handles were dug out. Many of these items were expected to be on exhibit in museums shortly after. Archaeologists acknowledge that this was the first site discovered from the reign of Roman emperor Augustus (63 BC-14 AD).

Lutetia is featured in the Asterix adventures. It is among the largest and most developed in Gaul, shown to be full of Gauls with some Roman Legionaries who patrol the streets. As with nearly the entire country of Gaul in the series, Lutetia is under the Pax Romana and is even governed by an envoy of Caesar. Frequently it served the farcical role of reflecting the modern city of Paris in a historical setting eccentric to Parisian conventions. The city first features in Asterix and the Golden Sickle, which almost entirely takes place in and around the city. It is also shown in Asterix and the Laurel Wreath where it is mentioned as the greatest city in the universe along with Rome. Asterix and Obelix also make a brief stop in Asterix and the Banquet. In every appearance, Lutetia is shown to be in constant gridlock, with every cart unable to move and the cartdrivers insulting each other for getting in the way. Justforkix and Bravura are also mentioned to be from Lutetia.>>

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:25 pm
by RJN
lsinclair wrote:Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta? I believe your statement about Lutitia being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.
Yes, thanks for pointing that out. That and the title typo have now been corrected.
- RJN

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:39 pm
by mwhidden
Why does Lutetia appear not to be rotating (at least with respect to the sun). The shadows never shift. Were the frames compiled from images each taken at the same time of Lutetian day, or was the flyby so brief that no noticeable rotation occurred?

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:19 pm
by revloren
RJN wrote: That and the title typo have now been corrected.
- RJN
Still says 'tit'. heh heh (Beevis laugh)

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:28 pm
by Chris Peterson
mwhidden wrote:Why does Lutetia appear not to be rotating (at least with respect to the sun). The shadows never shift. Were the frames compiled from images each taken at the same time of Lutetian day, or was the flyby so brief that no noticeable rotation occurred?
Lutetia has an eight hour rotation period, and the flyby lasted about one minute. So as you surmise, there simply wasn't enough time for the rotation to be apparent in the movement of shadows.

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutitea (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:26 pm
by ToSeek
RJN wrote:
lsinclair wrote:Um, what about Dawn , now orbiting Vesta? I believe your statement about Lutitia being the largest asteroid visited is now dated.
Yes, thanks for pointing that out. That and the title typo have now been corrected.
- RJN
Title still spells the asteroid's name as "Lutitia" rather than "Lutetia.

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:27 pm
by Daniel Machacek
Actually author of this animation is Ian Reagan, not me! :)
I did color and stereo images, which are available on Emily's blog (http://planetary.org/blog/article/00003448/), or in my blog (http://my-favourite-universe.blogspot.c ... tetia.html) but Ian Regan did this animation. He is author of animations on channel http://www.youtube.com/user/planetarypr ... ture=watch (I have similar channel http://www.youtube.com/user/solsysgallery).

Re: APOD: Rosetta Approaches Asteroid Lutetia (2012 Apr 24)

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:51 am
by Daburb1
I'm a little dismayed at a majority of the responses. I didn't see a single "THANK YOU" for doing this work, only issues with claims and spelling. Jeez!!!! Is this type of work SO familiar that we've only to pick apart the spelling and the claims? Perhaps it's just me still amazed that we have the ability to capture this type of information and then share it with everyone. I for one am thankful that I live in a time where this information can be brought into my home. I am thankful that the technology exists to allow me to move my frame of mind beyond the limited scope of nitpicking and still see the beauty of the cosmos, however misspelled, however rife with apparent error claim as to 'who has the biggest one' or if the word 'tit' is still in the title. Wow --- simply --- wow.

To everyone responsible for bringing this information to me in a video that I can watch - THANK YOU!! Thank you for your time and effort and focus on SHARING!!