First Sight of Ryugu Asteroid

Yesterday, 7th of June 2018, the images of Ryugu asteroid taken the 6th of June were released at the JAXA press conference. The images were taken from a distance of 2600 km from the asteroid. I was in the control room when the raw images were received. It is amazing to be part of #Hayabusa2 Team and look at something no one has ever seen before! Honored to be part of it! I can't describe my joy and this is just the beginning. The arrival date is confirmed to be around the 27th of June. The original JAXA article is available in Japanese at http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/topics/20180607/

Ryugu as seen from 2600 km the 6th of June 2018. The field of view is 6.3 degrees x 6.3 degrees square. Exposure time 178 seconds. (image credit JAXA)

Ryugu image taken with the ONC-T camera. The field of view is 6.3 degrees x 6.4 degrees square. Exposure time is about 0.09 seconds. (image credit JAXA)