LONDON — Queen legend Sir Brian Could and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx chief scientist Dante Lauretta problem Area.com readers to {photograph} objects within the photo voltaic system. The prize? A signed copy of their new e book about asteroid Bennu.
A honored rock star and astrophysicist, Could cooperated with the workforce behind NASA’s asteroid sample-return mission OSIRIS-REx, serving to to discover a touchdown spot on the treacherous floor of asteroid Bennu, an area rock that turned out fully totally different from what the researchers anticipated.
The collaboration spawned the e book “Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an asteroid,” the first-ever atlas of an asteroid, that comes filled with 3D photos created by Could. Lauretta and Could, who’re the e book’s authors, detailed the collaboration at a latest occasion in London and generously agreed to donate a duplicate of the e book with a signed plate into Area.com’s new astrophotography competitors.
Video: Queen’s Brian Could talks about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and asteroid Bennu e book
“Brian and I wish to invite all Area.com readers to submit their entries into the astrophotography contest and I wish to problem you to take an image of a photo voltaic system object,” Lauretta stated in a video, launching the competitors.
Could added: “In the event you win, you’ll get a duplicate of this e book with a particular plate that has each our signatures on it, so get to it, okay?”
Could, who famously accomplished his PhD in astrophysics in 2007 after a greater than 30-year-long hiatus enforced by Queen’s rise to fame within the early Seventies, beforehand cooperated with different house exploration missions. They embody Europe’s comet-chaser Rosetta to the comet 67P and NASA’s New Horizons mission, which took photos of Pluto throughout its historic first flyby of that world in 2015. In an unique interview with Area.com, Could stated the OSIRIS-REx cooperation, nonetheless, requested far more of him than his earlier astronomy gigs.
“Dante [Lauretta] wished to contain me at an early stage so we may really contribute to the conduct of a mission,” Could instructed Area.com. “That is the essential distinction.”
Within the preface of the e book, Lauretta defined how essential Could’s work was in serving to the scientists discover a safe-enough touchdown spot for OSIRIS-Rex to gather a pattern from. When the mission first reached its vacation spot, the possibly hazardous near-Earth asteroid Bennu, it discovered not one of the easy beach-like plains the researchers had anticipated and designed their mission for. The touchdown, or fairly a short landing, was essential for the success of the mission, NASA’s first-ever try and convey to Earth a bit of an asteroid.
“I used to be amazed by the outcomes that Brian and his collaborator Claudia Manzoni produced by processing our knowledge in stereo photos, permitting us to see Bennu’s rugged and tough panorama in wonderful 3-D,” Lauretta wrote within the e book’s preface. “Seeing Bennu’s floor on this manner actually introduced dwelling the intimidating actuality of this asteroid. It was far past our preliminary spacecraft design capabilities. At first, it appeared like our job was not possible, that we have been by no means going to discover a appropriate location to gather our pattern.”
Astrophotographers can submit their entries into the competitors by e mail to spacephotos@house.com by Sept. 15. Please embody “astrophoto competitors” within the topic line to be thought-about. The Area.com editorial workforce will choose and announce the winner on Sept. 20 in our astrophoto of the month story, 4 days earlier than OSIRIS-REx delivers its treasured cargo to Earth.
SPACE.COM GIVEAWAY: Copy of “Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an asteroid” with plate insert signed plate by authors Sir Brian Could and Dante Lauretta
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HOW TO ENTER: Starting at 12:00 PM ET on Aug. 8, 2023 (“Occasion”), go to the Area.com announcement web page (“Occasion Web page”), and submit an astrophotography picture to our submission e mail “spacephotos@house.com“ by September 15, 2023 with the topic line “astrophoto competitors” and knowledge on the picture and its credit score. If, for no matter cause, the Occasion is cancelled or postponed, this giveaway is not going to happen. Entries generated by script, macro or different automated means or by any means which subvert the entry course of are void. Restrict one (1) entry per individual/e mail. A number of entries will probably be void. Entries turn out to be the only property of Sponsor. Entry should not be offensive or inappropriate, as decided by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the best to disqualify any entry and take away any remark that it determines, in its sole discretion, is just not in compliance with these Official Guidelines or is in any other case not in line with Sponsor’s picture.
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