9969 Braille
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Discoverer |
E. Helin - 1992. |
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Diameter (km) |
2.2 x 1.0 |
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Mass (kg) |
? |
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Rotation period (hrs) |
? |
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Orbital period (yrs) |
3.58 |
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Semimajor axis (AU) |
2.34171 |
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Orbital eccentricity |
0.43353 |
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Orbital Inclination (deg) |
28.94896 |
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Albedo |
? |
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Type |
U |
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Braille was visited by NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft on July 29, 1999 when the spacecraft flew within 26 kilometers of the asteroid. The spacecraft's infrared sensor confirmed that the small asteroid is similar to Vesta, a rare type of asteroid and one of the largest bodies in the main asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter. Is the near-Earth asteroid Braille a chip off Vesta, or are the two asteroids somehow related, perhaps thrown off a larger body that has been destroyed long ago? It is determined that in about 4,000 years Braille will join the hundreds
of other asteroids
that drift in and out of Earth's orbit. |
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Images of Braille |
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Composite View of Asteroid Braille from Deep Space 1. These two images were taken 914 seconds and 932 seconds after the recent Deep Space 1 encounter with the asteroid 9969 Braille. The Sun is illuminating Braille from below, as is indicated by the arrow. |
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Enhanced Image of Asteroid Braille from Deep Space 1. This image was created from a composite of two images which were taken 914 seconds and 932 seconds after the Deep Space 1 encounter with the asteroid Braille.
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Last updated: March 15, 2002.
