Related papers: Basaltic material in the main belt: a tale of two …
Dynamically different groups of comets and active asteroids with orbits at 2 - 5 a. u. show dust activity in varying degrees and forms. Photometric study and comparison of physical parameters can help to classify mechanisms and nature of…
The study of active asteroids has attracted a great deal of interest in recent years since the recognition of main-belt comets (which orbit in the main asteroid belt, but exhibit comet-like activity due to the sublimation of volatile ices)…
Asteroid families, traditionally defined as clusters of objects in orbital parameter space, often have distinctive optical colors. We show that the separation of family members from background interlopers can be improved with the aid of…
It is generally accepted today that our solar system has undergone a phase during which the orbits of the giant planets became very unstable. In recent years, many studies have identified traces of this event and have provided reasonable…
The debiased absolute-magnitude and orbit distributions as well as source regions for near-Earth objects (NEOs) provide a fundamental frame of reference for studies of individual NEOs and more complex population-level questions. We present…
We numerically estimate the semi-major axis chaotic diffusion of the Vesta family asteroids induced by close encounters with 11 massive main belt asteroids : (1) Ceres, (2) Pallas, (3) Juno, (4) Vesta, (7) Iris, (10) Hygiea, (15) Eunomia,…
This work explores the implications of the Jovian Early Bombardment (JEB) for the evolution of the primordial Vesta, in particular in terms of crater saturation, crustal excavation and surface erosion. Both scenarios assuming the…
Small asteroids and large meteoroids frequently impact the Earth, though their physical and material properties remain poorly understood. When observed as fireballs in Earth's atmosphere, these properties can be inferred from their ablation…
Thanks to the Gaia mission, it will be possible to determine the masses of approximately hundreds of large main belt asteroids with very good precision. We currently have diameter estimates for all of them that can be used to compute their…
Main-belt asteroids have been continuously colliding with one another since they were formed. Its size distribution is primarily determined by the size dependence of asteroid strength against catastrophic impacts. The strength scaling law…
An asteroid family is typically formed when a larger parent body undergoes a catastrophic collisional disruption, and as such family members are expected to show physical properties that closely trace the composition and mineralogical…
Large main-belt asteroids (diameter $D \gtrsim 120\ \mathrm{km}$) exhibit a surface composition gradient as a function of heliocentric distance, ranging from anhydrous bodies to those rich in hydrated and, possibly, ammoniated materials.…
The proper elements of asteroids are obtained from the instantaneous orbital elements by removing periodic oscillations produced by gravitational interactions with planets. They are unchanging in time, at least if chaotic dynamics and…
Earth and orbital-based radar observations of asteroids provide a unique opportunity to characterize surface roughness and the dielectric properties of their surfaces, as well as potentially explore some of their shallow subsurface physical…
The classical theory of differentiation states that due to the heat generated by the decay of radioactive elements, some asteroids form an iron core, an olivine-rich mantle, and a crust. The collisional breakup of these differentiated…
Main Belt Comets (MBCs) exhibit sublimation-driven activity while occupying asteroid-like orbits in the Main Asteroid Belt. MBCs and candidates show stronger clustering of their longitudes of perihelion around 15{\deg} than other objects…
We report on our search for genetically related asteroids amongst the near-Earth object (NEO) population - families of NEOs akin to the well known main belt asteroid families. We used the technique proposed by Fu et al. (2005) supplemented…
The asteroid (4) Vesta, parent body of the Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite meteorites, is one of the first bodies that formed, mostly from volatile-depleted material, in the Solar System. The Dawn mission recently provided evidence that…
CASTAway is a mission concept to explore our Solar System's main asteroid belt. Asteroids and comets provide a window into the formation and evolution of our Solar System and the composition of these objects can be inferred from space-based…
We observed the dynamically similar near-Sun asteroids 2021 PH27 and 2025 GN1 for their optical colors. These objects have the lowest known semi-major axes of any asteroids. 2021 PH27 has the largest general relativistic effects of any…