                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2026 July 14
    A large rocky object floats in dark space. The object is gray and has
    many small protrusions. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                       Double Lobed Asteroid Torifune
    Image Credit & Copyright: JAXA, U. of Tokyo, Chiba Tech, Tokyo U. of
                       Science, AIST, Paris Obs., IAC

   Explanation: Why is this asteroid a double? Earlier this month the
   Japanese robotic spacecraft Hayabusa2 shot past asteroid 98943 Torifune
   and captured pictures. Although previous observations from distant
   Earth indicated that Torifune was oblong, Hayabusa2 found that Torifune
   actually has two joined lobes. With a length of about four soccer
   fields, this space rock frequently comes near the Earth as it orbits
   the Sun, although it is not a threat. Besides the two lobes, Torifune
   shows many large boulders, but, surprisingly, no obvious craters,
   likely because its surface is a pile of rubble. Like asteroid Arrokoth,
   it appears that each lobe formed separately before colliding and
   becoming stuck together. Hayabusa2 famously encountered asteroid Ryugu
   in 2018, and now heads for an encounter in 2031 with 1998 KY26, a
   smaller asteroid that rotates unusually fast and might have reservoirs
   of ice.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

