[AstroNet] Fw: Subaru: Telescope Photographs Return of Hayabusa

[Case Rijsdijk]

Just recieved this from Rick Feinberg, the AAS Press Officer.
Some may be interested.

Kind regards

Case

SUBARU TELESCOPE PHOTOGRAPHS THE
RETURN OF THE HAYABUSA SPACECRAFT

Subaru Telescope captured some extraordinary images of the Hayabusa
spacecraft as it was returning to Earth after a 6 billion kilometer
(3.75 billion mile) round trip to the nearby asteroid Itokawa.
Launched in 2003 from Japan’s southern island, Hayabusa demonstrated
its resemblance to its namesake, the falcon, when it flew to Itokawa,
landed on it, scooped up its soil, and flew back to Earth for
re-entry. The spacecraft overcame tremendous difficulties during its
7-year journey, which lasted 4 years longer than originally planned.
On June 14th, the ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science)
team recovered the capsule ejected from Hayabusa upon re-entry. The
capsule, which will arrive back in Japan on June 18th, might contain
specks of Itokawa’s dust, which could enable scientists to uncover
important information about the history of the Solar System.

During an intense period of preparation for the observations, Dr.
Masafumi Yagi and his team managed to position the Subaru Telescope
just in time to photograph Hayabusa when it was a little less than
halfway between the Moon and Earth, and just before it moved south and
disappeared in the twilight sky. Subaru’s Prime Focus Camera
(Suprime-Cam) took five-second exposures, each spaced by 35 to 50
seconds, clearly tracing the spacecraft’s expected positions and also
showing clear images of a spiral galaxy in the background. Hayabusa’s
estimated brightness is only 21 magnitudes.

More news from the project team at the ISAS/Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) is pending. In the meantime, congratulations
are in order for all who are involved in this unprecedented endeavor.

                           # # #

To see a composite image of Hayabusa’s return or to view animation
from the same image set, click on www.SubaruTelescope.org, open the
article under Science Results, and then click on the link at the end
of the article.

Subaru Telescope is one of the world’s largest optical/infrared
telescopes. Located on the summit of the sacred mountain of Mauna Kea
on the Big Island of Hawaii, it is one of the best sites on Earth to
view the universe. Operated by the National Astronomical Observatory
of Japan and primarily staffed at its base facility in Hilo, Hawaii,
Subaru’s organization collaborates with scientists, educators, and the
local community to enhance our understanding of the Universe.