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

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.

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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