Here is a set of enlarged and edited frames showing the NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (in red). To increase the visibility, the images are specially turned over.
The images were acquired on September 2 with the help of the Observatory of the Big Binocular Telescope (Arizona). This is the first look since launch in 2016.
OSIRIS-REx is 12 million km distant and has a magnitude of 25.
The Big Binocular Telescope is a pair of 8.4-meter mirrors set sideways on one mount. Capable of functioning together and creating power that equates to the strength of a 22.7-meter telescope. Usually it tracks more distant objects, but uses its capabilities to search for OSIRIS-REx.
The ship is approaching Earth for gravitational reconfiguration to change the trajectory and head for the Benn asteroid. His goal is to take a sample and deliver it to us in 2023.
