Bennu topography

3D ModelNoAI

This is a topographic map of asteroid Bennu’s surface, taken on 05.08.2019 using OSIRIS-REx’s Laser Altimeter (OLA) instrument. The spacecraft performed two orbital passes, at 1.2 and 0.7 km respectively, measuring the bounce-off time of multiple laser pulses fired at the asteroid, which translates into distance. The colours are indicative of the distance from the asteroid’s centre, ranging from blue to red across ~60 m.

The animation cycles between the topographic and photographic view, for an easier side-by-side comparison.

Both models were created using photogrammetry, based on source data from asteroidmission.org.

For a closer look at the asteroid’s surface and how it varies from a perfect sphere, check out my other model.

Includes Nightingale.

Source:

Credit: NASA/University of Arizona/CSA/York/MDA