{"id":473,"date":"2008-09-09T11:04:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-09T09:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kids.esa.int\/steins_a_diamond_in_the_sky\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T00:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T22:28:37","slug":"steins_a_diamond_in_the_sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kids.esa.int\/nb\/steins_a_diamond_in_the_sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Steins: A diamond in the sky"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lede\">\n<p>The first images of Asteroid Steins taken by Rosetta\u2019s instruments were derived from raw data and have delivered spectacular results: asteroid Steins looks like a diamond in the sky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Visible in the images are several small craters on the asteroid, and two huge ones, one of which is 2 km in diameter, indicating that the asteroid must be very old.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" data-width=\"1200\" data-credit=\"ESA \u00a92008 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS\/UPD\/LAM\/IAA&lt;br&gt;\/RSSD\/INTA\/UPM\/DASP\/IDA\" data-detail-url=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/ESA_Multimedia\/Images\/2008\/09\/Asteroid_Steins_A_diamond_in_space5\" data-licence=\"ESA Standard Licence\" data-licence-url=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/ESA_Multimedia\/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2008\/09\/asteroid_steins_a_diamond_in_space5\/17870042-2-eng-GB\/Asteroid_Steins_A_diamond_in_space.jpg\" alt=\"Asteroid Steins: A diamond in space\"><figcaption>Asteroid Steins: A diamond in space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The images are 50 to 60 pixels in diameter, enough to characterise the shape and other characteristics of the body of the asteroid. In the images is a chain of impact craters, which must have formed from recurring impact as the asteroid rotated. The chain is composed of about 7 craters. To determine the age of the asteroid, a count of the craters on the asteroid\u2019s surface has been started (the more the number of craters, the older the asteroid). So far, 23 craters have been spotted.<\/p>\n<p>After analysis of the Rosetta data, Steins will be one of the best-characterised asteroids so far.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first images of Asteroid Steins taken by Rosetta\u2019s instruments were derived from raw data and have delivered spectacular results: asteroid Steins looks like a diamond in the sky. 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