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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

First light on Ryugu for Hayabusa2!

First light on Ryugu for Hayabusa2!
First light on Ryugu for Hayabusa2! This is a series of nine pictures taken with Hyabusa2's telescopic optical navigation camera (ONC-T) from about 12:00 to around 15:00 JST (03:00 to 06:00 UTC) on February 26, 2018, from a distance of about 1.3 million kilometers. Ryugu is visible as a bright dot near the center that moves slightly from left to right. Objects that can only be seen momentarily as they appear and disappear between frames are image noise. The phase angle of the photo is only 0.8 degrees -- Hayabusa2 was positioned between the Sun and the asteroid at the time. JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST
First light on Ryugu for Hayabusa2 (annotated)
First light on Ryugu for Hayabusa2 (annotated) Hayabusa2's view is in the direction of the constellation Pisces.Image: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST
Hayabusa2's position at the time of the "first light" image
Hayabusa2's position at the time of the "first light" image A screen cap from the mission website.