By 
September 8th, 2018
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 ,spacecraft.
Credit: DLR (CC-BY 3.0)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 asteroid mission is busy at work, in position at asteroid Ryugu.
Imagery shows the temperature differences on asteroid Ryugu’s surface during one rotation, with red indicating regions with a high temperature.
Credit: JAXA, Ashikaga University, Rikkyo University, Chiba Institute of Technology, University of Aizu, Hokkaido University of Education, Hokkaido Kitami Hokuto High School, AIST, National Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Tokyo, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, Stirling University.
Distinct regions at different temperatures are captured by the Thermal InfraRed Imager (TIR). Features in a thermal image can be seen even if they are in a shaded location in the visible photograph. This lets us confirm that the overall shape of the asteroid is well understood, and also the characteristic topography such as craters and large boulders that show up as a difference in temperature.
Credit: JAXA
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