Related papers: Asteroid Systems: Binaries, Triples, and Pairs
In the near-Earth asteroid population, binary and triple systems have been discovered with mutual orbits that have significant eccentricities as well as large semi-major axes. All known systems with eccentric orbits and all widely-separated…
Satellites of asteroids have been discovered in nearly every known small body population, and a remarkable aspect of the known satellites is the diversity of their properties. They tell a story of vast differences in formation and evolution…
We present a model of near-Earth asteroid (NEA) rotational fission and ensuing dynamics that describes the creation of synchronous binaries and all other observed NEA systems including: doubly synchronous binaries, high- e binaries, ternary…
The discovery of binaries in each of the major populations of minor bodies in the solar system is propelling a rapid growth of heretofore unattainable physical information. The availability of mass and density constraints for minor bodies…
We propose and analyze a new mechanism for the formation of the wide asynchronous binary population. These binary asteroids have wide semi-major axes relative to most near-Earth and Main Belt asteroid systems. Confirmed members have rapidly…
Asteroid pairs sharing similar heliocentric orbits were found recently. Backward integrations of their orbits indicated that they separated gently with low relative velocities, but did not provide additional insight into their formation…
From the results of a comprehensive asteroid population evolution model, we conclude that the YORP-induced rotational fission hypothesis can be consistent with the observed population statistics of small asteroids in the main belt including…
An asteroid pair consists of two unbound objects with almost identical heliocentric orbital elements that were formed when a single "rubble pile" asteroid failed to remain bound against an increasing rotation rate. Models suggest that the…
Rotationally fissioned asteroids produce unbound daughter asteroids that have very similar heliocentric orbits. Backward integration of their current heliocentric orbits provides an age of closest proximity that can be used to date the…
The locations of the fully despun, double synchronous end states of tidal evolution are derived for spherical components. With the exception of nearly equal-mass binaries, binary asteroid systems are in the midst of lengthy tidal…
We studied 93 asteroid pairs. We estimated times elapsed since separation of pair members that are between 7*10^3 and a few 10^6 yr. We derived the rotation periods for all the primaries and a sample of secondaries. We derived the absolute…
The discovery that many trans-neptunian objects exist in pairs, or binaries, is proving invaluable for shedding light on the formation, evolution and structure of the outer Solar system. Based on recent systematic searches it has been…
Asteroid binaries found amongst the Near-Earth objects are believed to have formed from rotational fission. In this paper, we aim to study the dynamical evolution of asteroid systems the moment after fission. The initial condition is…
Observations of the Kuiper Belt indicate that a larger than expected percentage of KBO's (approximately 8 out of 500) are in binary pairs. The formation and survival of such objects presents a conundrum [1]. Two competing theories have been…
The rotation states of kilometer sized near earth asteroids are known to be affected by the YORP effect. In a related effect, Binary YORP (BYORP) the orbital properties of a binary asteroid evolves under a radiation effect mostly acting on…
Context. Small binary asteroid systems and pairs are thought to form through fission induced by spin up via the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect. This process is expected to depend on their structural strength, hence…
An asteroid pair can be described as two asteroids with highly similar heliocentric orbits that are genetically related but not gravitationally bound. They can be produced by asteroid collisions or rotational fission. Although over 200…
Binaries have played a crucial role many times in the history of modern astronomy and are doing so again in the rapidly evolving exploration of the Kuiper Belt. The large fraction of transneptunian objects that are binary or multiple, 48…
Asteroids are classified as tiny and light objects in the solar system, however some of them possess orbiting moons. According to surveys, 15% of near-earth asteroids have moons. The Electrical Discharge effect provides a new model that…
Recent observations have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper-belt. The discovered binaries have four characteristics they comprise a few percent of the TNOs, the…