NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will pass close to Earth this weekend, and the best place for stargazers to see the rare encounter is upstate.
Curtin University researchers have been commissioned by NASA to observe the Lucy spacecraft on its mission to explore the Trojan asteroids orbiting Jupiter.
Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids are considered time capsules from the birth of the Solar System more than four billion years ago.
These asteroid swarms associated with Jupiter are thought to be remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets.
Curtin’s Desert Fireball Network will watch the encounter from Port Hedland, along with amateur observers and members of the public hoping to capture photos from their mobile phones in WA’s Pilbara and Kimberley regions.
The spacecraft will fly closest to our planet around 7pm on Sunday.
Camera icon Curtin University researchers have been commissioned by NASA to observe the Lucy spacecraft on its mission to explore the Trojan asteroids orbiting Jupiter. Credit: Bernadett – stock.adobe.com/Bernadett – stock.adobe.com
Astronomer Hadrien Devillepoix said Curtin’s team would aim to get a view of Lucy’s solar array reflecting off the Sun.
“Hopefully, this will tell NASA engineers whether the panels have fully deployed and are locked in place, a critical step before Lucy can fire up her main engine,” Dr Devillepoix said.
“The spacecraft will come very close to Earth, at a similar altitude to low-Earth orbit satellites such as the International Space Station, so people near Port Hedland and Broome will have the best view of this rare sight.”
Planetary scientist Eleanor Sansom, of the Curtin Center for Space Science and Technology, said the group was delighted to be selected by NASA as the “preferred team for close-Earth observation”.
“After traveling at around 108,000 km/h around the Sun, Lucy will return to Earth this weekend to receive the spacecraft’s first gravity assist since launch on October 16 last year” , he said.
Lucy will return to Earth for another gravity assist in 2024, which will propel the spacecraft toward asteroid Donaldjohanson, located inside the Solar System’s main asteroid belt, in 2025.
CDFN is a series of 52 autonomous stations across Australia designed to track meteorites as they enter the atmosphere and identify their fall positions.