Musician and Astrophysicist , Brian May , Co-Authored the First Atlas of an Asteroid.<br />Musician and Astrophysicist , Brian May , Co-Authored the First Atlas of an Asteroid.<br />A new book, co-authored by University of <br />Arizona's planetary science expert Dante Lauretta, <br />is set to become the world's first atlas of an asteroid. .<br />'The Guardian' reports that the book is notably <br />co-authored by little-known astrophysicist Brian May, <br />who is better known as the guitarist for Queen.<br />'The Guardian' reports that the book is notably <br />co-authored by little-known astrophysicist Brian May, <br />who is better known as the guitarist for Queen.<br />The two astrophysicists joined forces to author , 'Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an Asteroid.'.<br />The book is reportedly the first complete, three-dimensional atlas of an asteroid ever.<br />The book, featuring images and <br />data from the Osiris-Rex mission, <br />is set to be released on July 27.<br />The Osiris-Rex mission was a partnership between <br />NASA and the University of Arizona aimed at <br />collecting samples from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid.<br />The Osiris-Rex mission was a partnership between <br />NASA and the University of Arizona aimed at <br />collecting samples from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid.<br />The mission, which launched in 2016, <br />is scheduled to return to Earth carrying data <br />from the asteroid on September 24 of this year. .<br />NASA expects the mission to deliver, “pristine material from Bennu – rocks and dust <br />collected from the asteroid’s surface in 2020.”.<br />According to NASA, the mission offers scientists a <br />window into 4.5 billion years ago, at a time when the <br />sun and planets were still in the process of forming.<br />NASA considers Bennu <br />one of the asteroids which <br />pose the greatest risk to Earth. .<br />NASA has estimated that Bennu has <br />a relatively high probability of impacting <br />Earth at some point in the late 22nd century
