OSIRIS-REx Captures ‘Super-Resolution’ Image of Asteroid Bennu

This “super-resolution” view of asteroid Bennu was created using eight images obtained by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on October 29, 2018, from a distance of about 205 miles (330 km). Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

This “super-resolution” view of asteroid Bennu was created using eight images obtained by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on October 29, 2018, from a distance of about 205 miles (330 km). The spacecraft was moving as it captured the images with the PolyCam camera, and Bennu rotated 1.2 degrees during the nearly one minute that elapsed between the first and the last snapshot. The team used a super-resolution algorithm to combine the eight images and produce a higher-resolution view of the asteroid. Bennu occupies about 100 pixels and is oriented with its north pole at the top of the image.