VLBA Sees Diffraction Patterns Caused by Asteroid

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VLBA Sees Diffraction Patterns Caused by Asteroid

Radio waves from a distant galaxy were blocked from view by an asteroid in our Solar System. However, in a process called diffraction, waves bent around the asteroid and interacted to form a pattern of bright and dark circles. Astronomers analyzed this pattern to learn new details about the asteroid’s. size, shape, and orbit.

Credit: B. Saxton NRAO/AUI/NSF

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VLBA Sees Diffraction Patterns Caused by Asteroid

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The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
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