Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2019 December 23 IFRAME: [2]https://www.youtube.com/embed/pvKEG141GmU?rel=0 Places for OSIRIS-REx to Touch Asteroid Bennu Video Credit: [3]NASA, [4]GSFC, [5]U. Arizona, [6]SVS, [7]OSIRIS-REx Explanation: Where is the best place to collect a surface sample from asteroid Bennu? [8]Launched in 2016, NASA sent the robotic [9]Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) to investigate the 500-meter-across asteroid [10]101955 Bennu. After mapping the near-Earth asteroid's dark surface, OSIRIS-REx will next touch [11]Bennu's surface in 2020 August to collect a surface sample. The [12]featured 23-second time-lapse video shows four candidate locations for the touch, from which [13]NASA chose just one earlier this month. NASA chose the Nightingale near Bennu's northern hemisphere as the primary touch-down spot because of its relative flatness, lack of [14]boulders, and apparent abundance of fine-grained sand. Location Osprey is the backup. NASA plans to [15]return soil samples for [16]Bennu to Earth in 2023 for a detailed analysis. Free Presentation: [17]APOD Editor to show best astronomy images of 2019 -- and the decade -- in NYC on January 3 Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix2015.html 2. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pvKEG141GmU?rel=0 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard 5. https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/missions/osiris-rex 6. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/in-depth/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161017.html 9. https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex 10. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/101955-bennu/overview/ 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu 12. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4744 13. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/x-marks-the-spot-nasa-selects-site-for-asteroid-sample-collection/ 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190524.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181104.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181213.html 17. http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=40052 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191222.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix2015.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=191223 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191224.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. http://www.mtu.edu/