Giant KBO victim of massive collision
Posted: Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 7:35 AM ET (1135 GMT)
A giant, oblong-shaped Kuiper Belt object (KBO) in the outer solar system likely got its odd shape as the result of a collision early in the history of the solar system. In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, Caltech scientists said that they believe 2003 EL61 was originally a spherical body nearly the size of Pluto. About 4.5 billion years ago, however, it collided with a slightly smaller body, leaving behind a fast-spinning main body similar in shape to a football, as well as at least two moons and a number of smaller bodies made predominately of ice.
A giant, oblong-shaped Kuiper Belt object (KBO) in the outer solar system likely got its odd shape as the result of a collision early in the history of the solar system. In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, Caltech scientists said that they believe 2003 EL61 was originally a spherical body nearly the size of Pluto. About 4.5 billion years ago, however, it collided with a slightly smaller body, leaving behind a fast-spinning main body similar in shape to a football, as well as at least two moons and a number of smaller bodies made predominately of ice.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, February 9
Return to Moon Base Gingrich
The Economist — 12:50 pm ET (1750 GMT) Rockot to launch two Sentinel satellites
ESA — 12:40 pm ET (1740 GMT) Legacy of alumna astronaut continues past death
Purdue Univ. Exponent — 12:38 pm ET (1738 GMT) Spectra Systems Corporation Products on Their Way to Mars
PR Newswire — 12:38 pm ET (1738 GMT) Astronomy team that includes UCLA finance professor discovers nearby dwarf galaxy
UCLA — 12:30 pm ET (1730 GMT) |