A Few of Bennu's Most Recognizable Features

A Few of Bennu’s Most Recognizable Features

This image captures some of asteroid Bennu’s most recognizable features. Located in the southern hemisphere, Bennu’s largest boulder, Benben Saxum, is visible in the lower right of the image. Bennu’s darkest boulder, Gargoyle Saxum, which is near the equator, can be seen in the upper left sitting on the horizon. A crater that may contain sampleable material is also visible in the top center. The image was taken by the MapCam camera on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on April 19, from a distance of 2.2 miles (3.6 km). The field of view is 831 ft (253.3 m). For scale, Gargoyle is 46 ft (14 m) high, which is about the height of a telephone pole. The image was obtained during Flyby 7B of the mission’s Detailed Survey: Baseball Diamond phase. When the image was taken, the spacecraft was over the southern hemisphere, pointing MapCam north and to the west.

Date Taken: April 19, 2019

Instrument Used: OCAMS (MapCam)

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

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A Few of Bennu’s Most Recognizable Features

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