NASA’s Lucy spacecraft beams back pictures of an asteroid shaped like a lumpy bowling pin

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has beamed back pictures from its latest asteroid flyby, revealing a long, lumpy, odd-shaped space rock.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2025 (519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has beamed back pictures from its latest asteroid flyby, revealing a long, lumpy, odd-shaped space rock.

The space agency released the images Monday, a day after the close approach. It was considered a dress rehearsal for the more critical asteroid encounters ahead closer to Jupiter.

This asteroid is bigger than scientists anticipated, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) long and 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) wide at its widest point — resembling an irregular bowling pin. It’s so long that the spacecraft couldn’t capture it in its entirety in the initial downloaded images.

This image from video animation provided by NASA in October 2022 depicts the Lucy spacecraft. (NASA via AP)
This image from video animation provided by NASA in October 2022 depicts the Lucy spacecraft. (NASA via AP)

Data returned over the next week should help clarify the asteroid’s shape, according to NASA.

Lucy passed within 600 miles (960 kilometers) of the harmless asteroid known as Donaldjohanson on Sunday in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It’s named for the paleontologist who discovered the fossil Lucy 50 years ago in Ethiopia.

The spacecraft was launched in 2021 to study the unexplored so-called Trojan asteroids out near Jupiter. Eight Trojan flybys are planned through 2033.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This photo provided by NASA shows the asteroid Donaldjohanson as seen by the Lucy spacecraft during its flyby on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL via AP)
This photo provided by NASA shows the asteroid Donaldjohanson as seen by the Lucy spacecraft during its flyby on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL via AP)
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