Asteroid 9969 Braille
Explanation:
NASA probe
Deep Space 1 zoomed past asteroid
9969 Braille last week as it continued to test its new
ion drive in the inner
Solar System.
The flyby was the closest approach a spacecraft
has ever made to an
asteroid.
Looking back afterwards, DS1 took the
above picture.
Formerly known as 1992 KD, the 9969th asteroid
discovered was renamed in honor of
Louis Braille, a pioneer in written communication for the blind.
9969 Braille is thought by some to have collided with
asteroid Vesta in the distant past and broken up,
providing debris for many of the
meteorites that fall to Earth.
Asteroid 9969 Braille rotates only once in 9 days, and has an orbit greatly
tilted relative to the
ecliptic plane of the planets.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
