Sign in

Dr. JB Vincent

@comet-toolbox.com
166 followers 92 following 43 posts

Planetary scientist studying the formation and evolution of asteroids and comets. PI of the cameras on ESA's Hera and RAMSES missions. Also musician (3xperimental and Quantum Somnium).

PostsRepliesMedia
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 22h
10 years since Rosetta ended, time flies ! And now @ESA's next mission to a small body (Hera) is about to reach its destination. Many of us who were involved with Rosetta are working on Hera. It's a great family of scientists, engineers, and space missions :) #PlanetaryScience
070
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 29/09/2026
At @ESA ESOC this week for the final preparations before Hera's arrival !
A picture of JB Vincent in front of the ESA ESOC building
030
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 21/09/2026
Chariklo's rings are changing ! Great study by Santos-Sanz and co-authors ! #PlanetaryScience www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
JWST stellar occultation reveals unexpected changes in Chariklo’s ring system
Ring systems have been found around several small bodies in the outer Solar System through stellar occultations. While such observations provide constraints on ring geometry and dynamical interactions...
063
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 13/09/2026
After 2 years away from conferences because of health reasons, it was great to reconnect with my friends at EPSC. So good to see you all !
001
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 08/09/2026
I am in the Planetary Defense session today, will likely find you at one of the breaks
000
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 08/09/2026
I am there in person!
100
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 07/09/2026
It was a great talk, Nick !
110
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 04/09/2026
I will attend the Planetary Defence session (MITM3) in person at #EPSC206 (Posters on Monday, Orals on Tuesday). Come see the latest updates on Hera, RAMSES, and many other missions ! meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2026/ses... #PlanetaryScience
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org
Session MITM3
063
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 10/08/2026
Thanks for all the references!
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 09/08/2026
Is the map published as an atlas book somewhere ? And in English ? I would love to buy a copy !
110
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Dr. Raphael Marschall @spacemarschall.net · 29/07/2026
We are used to seeing weird shapes of small asteroids, but this is next level! look at the shape of 44 Nysa from Minker et al. This is 75 km volume-equivalent diameter object! Also it has a satellite! #planetSci 🧪
Residuals of R-band images of the Nysa system on 2026-
02-15 after processing with the blind deconvolution method of
Appendix A.3. The position of the satellite is marked with a pink
arrow. To improve the S/N, the deconvolution residuals were av-
eraged with a a ±5 frame sliding window. To provide scale, the
primary has been superimposed. An extended video version of
this figure and the same processing for the 2026-03-21 dataset is
available online.

Source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.25786
25511
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 20/07/2026
www.esa.int/Space_Safety... #PlanetaryScience #PlanetaryDefense
esa.int
Space naming odyssey: why is ESA’s asteroid mission called Hera?
Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey is set to bring one of the greatest stories of ancient Greece to a new generation. It is a world of gods and heroes, long voyages and impossible retu...
021
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Nature Astronomy @natastron.nature.com · 10/07/2026
Non-gravitational acceleration indicative of cometary activity of near-Earth object ☄️
dlvr.it
Non-gravitational acceleration indicative of cometary activity of near-Earth object
Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02913-7Subtle orbital shifts prompted deep imaging of near-Earth object 1998 SH2, which uncovered a weak tail and confirmed cometary activity. The result indicates that more near-Earth objects currently classified as asteroids may also exhibit hidden low-level activity.
0152
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 18/07/2026
Indeed, I released 4 albums after the age of 36 :)
110
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 08/07/2026
Operating across 140 million km of space from ESOC's Interplanetary Control Room (left), ESA’s Hera mission team has upgraded the software running the spacecraft - leaving it ready to explore the distant Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids this autumn www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
ESA Interplanetary Control Room entranceHera spacecraft seen from above
0257
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 06/07/2026
Great week-end for small bodies ! Hayabusa 2# flyby of asteroid Torifune (www.jaxa.jp/press/2026/0...) and Tianwen-2 images of asteroid Kamo'oalewa (www.xinhuanet.com/20260706/eb8...) ! #PlanetaryScience
Asteroid Torifune imaged by Hayabusa 2# (JAXA)Asteroid Kamo'oalewa imaged by Tianwen-2 (CNSA)
18633
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 30/06/2026
Happy #AsteroidDay! 🪨 But why today of all days? Find out here, along with eight other key dates in asteroid history! 👉 www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
Ramses mission and accompanying CubeSats around Apophis asteroid as it passes Earth in 2029
08719
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 21/06/2026
Happy summer solstice 🌞!
020
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 15/06/2026
This week I'll be participating in the first RAMSES Community Meeting. Only a little fewer than 3 years before our encounter with asteroid Apophis ! #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryScience www.ramsesmission.space/workshop-2026
ramsesmission.space
Workshop 2026 — RAMSES Mission
061
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 09/06/2026
The exact time of the flyby is July 5th at 18:30 JST, as announced by JAXA today (global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/0...)
global.jaxa.jp
JAXA | The timing of the flyby of asteroid Torifune by asteroid explorer Hayabusa2
Get information on the The timing of the flyby of asteroid Torifune by asteroid explorer Hayabusa2. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) performs various activities related to aerospace as an organization, from basic research in the aerospace field to development and utilization.
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 13/05/2026
It is fascinating to compare the AFC (visible wavelength) and TIRI (thermal wavelength) images. Deimos is very DARK to our eyes (~7% albedo) and in the AFC data. But that makes it an excellent thermal absorber/emitter, and therefore it appears very BRIGHT in TIRI images ! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
esa.int
Hera asteroid mission spies Mars’s Deimos moon
While performing yesterday’s flyby of Mars, ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence made the first use of its payload for scientific purposes beyond Earth and the Moon. Activating a trio of instrumen...
110
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 13/05/2026
This week we are attending the Hera Science Community Meeting in Thessaloniki and online. This is our last workshop before arrival at Didymos. Many interesting talks and lots of excitement :D Can't wait to receive the first data in a few months ! #Hera #PlanetaryScience #PlanetaryDefense
041
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
ESA and JAXA finalize agreement on Apophis asteroid mission ESA and JAXA have finalized an agreement to collaborate on a mission to study the asteroid Apophis during its close flyby of Earth in 2029.
spacenews.com
ESA and JAXA finalize agreement on Apophis asteroid mission
ESA and JAXA have finalized an agreement to collaborate on a mission to study the asteroid Apophis during its close flyby of Earth in 2029.
0183
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 16/04/2026
My understanding is that there is still some uncertainty on the precise time of the flyby, to be resolved soon !
010
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 15/04/2026
Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the Red Planet. It has spread hundreds of kilometres in less than 50 years. 🔭 🧪 #planetsci 1/4
A wide view of the Martian surface seen from above. The landscape is split into two contrasting halves: the left side is lighter, sandy beige with faint ridges and cracks, while the right side is darker, reddish-brown and more heavily cratered. The boundary between the two regions is uneven and gradual, creating a striking colour contrast across the scene.
323568
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 14/04/2026
Hayabusa2# will fly by asteroid (98943) Torifune on the 5th of July. All details in a new paper by Masatoshi Hirabayashi. Exciting ! arxiv.org/pdf/2604.08832 #planetaryscience #planetarydefense #hayabusa2
2154
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The FY 2027 NASA budget request hides its science cuts by omitting mission names instead of explicitly zeroing them out. We did the work and found 54 missions cancelled in this proposal. This is another extinction-level event for NASA science. Full list: planetary.org/save-nasa-science
9290211
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 30/03/2026
New Hera mission poster #Hera #PlanetaryScience www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Poster representing ESA's Hera mission. The picture shows Hera, its two cubesats Milani and Juventas, and the target asteroids Didymos and DImorphos
0266
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 12/03/2026
Our article describing the Ateroid Framing Cameras on ESA's Hera mission is now available on arXiv arxiv.org/abs/2603.10594 #PlanetaryScience #PlanetaryDefense
arxiv.org
The Asteroid Framing Cameras on ESA's Hera mission
As the first asteroid deflection test, NASA's successfully hit asteroid Dimorphos (secondary of the binary asteroid 65803 Didymos) with the DART kinetic impactor on September 26, 2022. To fully charac...
0101
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 11/03/2026
He is publishing so many arXiv-only papers ! I had no idea... I thought he was just enjoying retirement and not publishing anymore...
010
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Matthias M. M. Meier @matthiasmmmeier.com · 10/03/2026
Several papers on the isotopic composition of 3I/ATLAS on the arxiv today, with, e.g., 12C/13C being ca. 50% higher than measured in all solar system materials (D/H, 14N/15N too). Before, these kind of measurements were only possible in micron-scale presolar grains from primitive meteorites.🪐☄️ 1/11
arxiv.org
Isotopic Evidence for a Cold and Distant Origin of the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
Interstellar objects provide the only directly observable samples of icy planetesimals formed around other stars, and can therefore provide insight into the diversity of physical and chemical conditio...
1164
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 07/03/2026
Makadia et al: "targeting the secondary asteroid in binary systems constitutes a possible strategy for kinetic impact deflection" Very interesting analysis of the DART impact ! #DART #PlanetaryScience www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Direct detection of an asteroid’s heliocentric deflection: The Didymos system after DART
NASA’s DART mission changed the orbit of the Didymos system, revealing insights into the physical traits of its two asteroids.
192
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 24/02/2026
At ESA’s 2025 Ministerial Conference, the Space Safety Programme received significant support for its mission to predict, detect and mitigate space hazards, and to build towards a sustainable future in orbit. This is what we’re working on 👇 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
esa.int
ESA Space Safety Fleet
ESA Space Safety Fleet
14113
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Don Davis @ddavisspaceart.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
25 years ago today the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker spacecraft touched down on the Asteroid Eros, after orbiting it and making a map of the elongated 34 km long asteroid. It gently landed on the surface with its cameras obtaining views during the final descent. Digital art. #SCIART
This digital painting/render shows the NEAR spacecraft as it reached the surface, with attitude control jets spraying dust about. The spacecraft is a digital model I made from references, the asteroid surface foreground is based on the last photographs of the surface obtained on the way down. The rest of the scenery is painted based on more distant views. This was used on the cover of the mission final report.This view shows the context of the final photos in relation to the landed attitude of the NEAR spacecraft. The surface relief is guesswork, with the final descent photographs draped over a hand painted Digital Elevation map of the rocks etc. That surface model became the basis of the foreground of the other portrayal.
18231
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 11/02/2026
This week I am remotely attending the Hera and RAMSES SOWG (Science Operations Working Group) meetings. We are planning the activities for two missions in parallel !
010
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · 04/02/2026
THEY CAME FROM OTHER STARS! A new all-ages comic by @makinaro.com and me about 3I/ATLAS, `Oumuamua, and Borisov: why they're exciting, and why they're both familiar and alien at the same time. www.snexplores.org/article/inte...
snexplores.org
Interstellar objects: Visitors from other stars! [COMIC]
Only three interstellar objects have ever been spotted. Here’s what we know about them and why they’re so cool.
15426
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 04/02/2026
"In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom" by Volbeat Or what if Elvis was doing some metal music ;) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gns8...
youtube.com
Volbeat - In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom
YouTube video by VolbeatVEVO
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 04/02/2026
Our Space Science Reviews paper describing the Asteroid Framing Cameras on Hera will be accepted for publication after we correct a few minor typos :) As soon as the paper is formally accepted I will put it on ArXiV, and publish the link here.
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 24/01/2026
Very cool !
000
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
Kevin Olsen @drksolsen.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
With Ariel facing delays, @esa.int Comet Interceptor has found a new ride with a commercial Arian 6 launch customer. Comet Interceptor will carry MIRMIS being built by @oxfordphysics.bsky.social 🔭🧪 #planetsci spacenews.com/esas-comet-i...
spacenews.com
ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch
A delay in one European Space Agency mission is creating an opportunity for an earlier, and more capable, launch for another ESA spacecraft.
13211
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 06/01/2026
@esa.int 's RAMSES mission has now an official science community website: www.ramsesmission.space #PlanetaryScience
ramsesmission.space
RAMSES Mission
151
Reposted by Dr. JB Vincent
ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 19/12/2025
Third poster in our series: "Space Safety - in action!" Mission: Ramses Objective: Intercept and explore the asteroid Apophis as it passes Earth in 2029 Unique feature: Ramses capitalises on a one-in-7000-year scientific opportunity Launch: 2028 Download at: esa.int/space-safety/in-action
Stylised poster depicting the ESA-JAXA Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis
04712
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 02/01/2026
Happy 2026 to all my friends and their families. May this year bring you happiness and health !
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 12/12/2025
Congratulations !
000
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 28/11/2025
ESA's RAMSES mission is funded ! We are going to visit asteroid Apophis in 2029 :D www.esa.int/About_Us/Cor... #planetaryscience
esa.int
ESA Member States commit to largest contributions at Ministerial
The largest contributions in the history of the European Space Agency, €22.1 bn, have been approved at its Council meeting at Ministerial level in Bremen, ...
1346
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 26/11/2025
Deimos in front of Mars, as seen by ESA's Hera mission. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
070
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 24/11/2025
Fun fact: instruments are used to describe the rhythms of the system, pre-impact. Drum bass represents Didymos' rotation while the snare follows Dimorphos' orbit. The rhythmic parts are complemented by shrieking vocals and ethereal synthesizers fitting the outer space theme of the song.
031
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 24/11/2025
When I am not studying asteroids, I write songs about them ;) Exactly 4 years ago, I released a track to celebrate the success of the DART mission. The song is obviously called "Dimorphos" ! 3xperimental.bandcamp.com/album/dimorp... #metal, #planetaryscience
3xperimental.bandcamp.com
Dimorphos, by 3xperimental
2 track album
1112
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 13/11/2025
Sad news :(
010
Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 10/11/2025
You are going to like this one: Asteroid 21 Lutetia and Saturn :) Imaged by Rosetta/OSIRIS in July 2010.
110