Musician and Astrophysicist , Brian May , Co-Authored the First Atlas of an Asteroid.
Musician and Astrophysicist , Brian May , Co-Authored the First Atlas of an Asteroid.
A new book, co-authored by University of
Arizona's planetary science expert Dante Lauretta,
is set to become the world's first atlas of an asteroid. .
'The Guardian' reports that the book is notably
co-authored by little-known astrophysicist Brian May,
who is better known as the guitarist for Queen.
'The Guardian' reports that the book is notably
co-authored by little-known astrophysicist Brian May,
who is better known as the guitarist for Queen.
The two astrophysicists joined forces to author , 'Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an Asteroid.'.
The book is reportedly the first complete, three-dimensional atlas of an asteroid ever.
The book, featuring images and
data from the Osiris-Rex mission,
is set to be released on July 27.
The Osiris-Rex mission was a partnership between
NASA and the University of Arizona aimed at
collecting samples from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid.
The Osiris-Rex mission was a partnership between
NASA and the University of Arizona aimed at
collecting samples from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid.
The mission, which launched in 2016,
is scheduled to return to Earth carrying data
from the asteroid on September 24 of this year. .
NASA expects the mission to deliver, “pristine material from Bennu – rocks and dust
collected from the asteroid’s surface in 2020.”.
According to NASA, the mission offers scientists a
window into 4.5 billion years ago, at a time when the
sun and planets were still in the process of forming.
NASA considers Bennu
one of the asteroids which
pose the greatest risk to Earth. .
NASA has estimated that Bennu has
a relatively high probability of impacting
Earth at some point in the late 22nd century