Credit: Ellen Howell (NAIC), Arecibo, NRAO/AUI/NSF
What can radar images of a fast-moving asteroid tell us? Plenty, thanks to the combined efforts of two world-class radio telescopes. This series of images was created when Arecibo in Puerto Rico bounced a radar signal off the asteroid 2006 SX 217. The echo of that signal was then received and decoded by the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Once analyzed, these images will be used to construct a 3D model of this asteroid to learn more about its origin and composition.