Sentences with phrase «binary asteroids»
The phrase "binary asteroids" refers to a pair of asteroids that orbit around a common center of gravity, much like a pair of dancing partners. They are called "binary" because they have two components that are connected to each other by their gravitational pull. Full definition
This is the first known binary asteroid also classified as a comet.
sciencedaily.com
Their computer simulations of binary asteroids hitting Earth often result in a single crater (see images at right).
If binary asteroids can form single craters, then Earth is more likely to be hit by a pair of objects in future than our planet's crater record would suggest.
They ran computer simulations of binary asteroids hitting Earth and found that they often form a single crater.
That is a puzzle because counts of the rocks zooming around near Earth suggest binary asteroids are far more common than that.
The fact that 288P is so different from all other known binary asteroids raises some questions about whether it is not just a coincidence that it presents such unique properties.
We think binary planets are common in the galaxy, just as we know that binary stars are common in the galaxy, and we have even begun to find binary asteroids.
The researchers» simulations confirmed that such binary asteroids are rare enough to explain why paired craters account for only 2 per cent of all Earth's craters.
The work implies that binary asteroids hit Earth more often than the crater record appears to suggest — with implications for efforts to prevent future impacts (see «Do twin asteroids pose twice the risk?
If binary asteroids can form single craters, then Earth is more likely to hit by a binary impact in future than our planet's crater record would suggest.
This makes 288P the first known binary asteroid that is also classified as a main - belt comet.
The object is unique as it is a binary asteroid which also behaves like a comet.
«It is worth considering that it was formed by a binary asteroid.»
It has long been suspected that binary asteroids can generate single craters, says Jean - Luc Margot at the University of California, Los Angeles.
This artist's impression shows the binary asteroid 288P, located in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter.
An obvious implication is that binary asteroids hit Earth more often than the crater record appears to suggest — with ramifications for efforts to prevent future impacts (see «Do twin asteroids pose twice the risk?»
«The signatures also suggested that the Chicxulub crater might have been formed by a binary asteroid impact,» he says.
NIRC - 2 plays a major role in research on the Galactic Center and the black hole that resides there, as well as the cores of other galaxies, binary stars and binary asteroids, and the surfaces of Solar System bodies.
Tom Statler, the program scientist for DART, said that a binary asteroid is the perfect natural laboratory for this test.