Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2018

SMALL BODIES 5 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 speak, premeditated. In Japanese folktales, the name Ryugu identifies the Palace of the Dragon, a sort of coral castle lying on the ocean floor. According to the legend, one day a fisherman called Urashima Taro traveled to the castle astride a turtle. After a short stay, the fisherman returned home carrying a mysterious box containing a treasure (that said, the legend has several variations). When the Minor Planet Center designated the name Ryugu, Japan had al- ready launched (about ten months ear- lier, on December 3, 2014, from the Tane- gashima Space Center) the Hayabusa2 probe towards that asteroid. Not surpris- ingly, the mission of this probe retraces