Internal rubble properties of asteroid (101955) Bennu
Abstract
Exploration of asteroid (101955) Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx mission has provided an in-depth look at this rubble-pile near-Earth asteroid. In particular, the measured gravity field and the detailed shape model of Bennu indicate significant heterogeneities in its interior structure, compatible with a lower density at its center. Here we combine gravity inversion methods with a statistical rubble-pile model to determine the density and size-frequency distribution (SFD) index of the rubble that constitutes Bennu. The best-fitting models indicate that the SFD of the interior is consistent with that observed on the surface, with a cumulative SFD index of approximately . The rubble bulk density is approximately g/cm, corresponding to a % macro-porosity. We find the largest rubble particle to be approximately m, whereas the largest void is approximately m.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2108.10416,
title = {Internal rubble properties of asteroid (101955) Bennu},
author = {P. Tricarico and D. J. Scheeres and A. S. French and J. W. McMahon and D. N. Brack and J. M. Leonard and P. Antreasian and S. R. Chesley and D. Farnocchia and Y. Takahashi and E. M. Mazarico and D. Rowlands and D. Highsmith and K. Getzandanner and M. Moreau and C. L. Johnson and L. Philpott and E. B. Bierhaus and K. J. Walsh and O. S. Barnouin and E. E. Palmer and J. R. Weirich and R. W. Gaskell and M. G. Daly and J. A. Seabrook and M. C. Nolan and D. S. Lauretta},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.10416},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
14 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Icarus