http://arxiv.org/abs/1810.01815
The moniker rubble pile is typically applied to all solar system bodies with Diameter between 200m and 10km – where in this size range there is an abundance of evidence that nearly every object is bound primarily by self-gravity with significant void space or bulk porosity between irregularly shaped constituent particles. The understanding of this population is derived from wide-ranging population studies of derived shape and spin, decades of observational studies in numerous wavelengths, evidence left behind from impacts on planets and moons and the in situ study of a few objects via spacecraft flyby or rendezvous. The internal structure, however, which is responsible for the name rubble pile, is never directly observed, but belies a violent history. Many or most of the asteroids on near-Earth orbits, and the ones most accessible for rendezvous and in situ study, are likely byproducts of the continued collisional evolution of the Main Asteroid Belt.
K. Walsh
Thu, 4 Oct 18
35/72
Comments: 40 pages, 14 figures; Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2018, Vol. 56:593-624
You must be logged in to post a comment.