15 Jul Close encounter

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft flew within 3162 kilometers (1965 miles) of the asteroid Lutetia Saturday, snapping photos as it zipped by at 15 kilometers per second (33,500 miles per hour).

Here’s a video simulation compiled from the snapshots:

Very cool. The ancient asteroid lies in the Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It’s roughly 130 kilometers (81 miles) long in its longest dimension. More here, here, and here.