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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2025 February 12   
      
                 Asteroid Bennu Holds the Building Blocks of Life   
           Video Credit: Data: NASA, SVS, U. Arizona, CSA, York U., MDA;   
      Visualizer: Kel Elkins (lead, SVS); Text: Ogetay Kayali (Michigan Tech   
                                        U.)   
      
      Explanation: What can a space rock tell us about life on Earth? NASA's   
      OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a careful approach to the near-Earth   
      asteroid 101955 Bennu in October of 2020 to collect surface samples. In   
      September 2023, the robotic spaceship returned these samples to Earth.   
      A recent analysis has shown, surprisingly, that the samples contained   
      14 out of the 20 known amino acids that are the essential building   
      blocks of life. The presence of the amino acids re-introduces a big   
      question: Could life have originated in space? However, the protein   
      building blocks themselves held another surprise -- they contained an   
      even mixture of left-handed and right-handed amino acids -- in contrast   
      to our Earth which only has left-handed ones. This raises another big   
      question: Why does life on Earth have only left-handed amino acids?   
      Research on this is sure to continue.   
      
                   Tomorrow's picture: interstellar dust clouds   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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