Giant KBO victim of massive collision
Posted: Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 8:35 AM ET (1235 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
|
|
Report outlines cost growth in canceled NASA exploration programs
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:14 AM ET (1514 GMT) Perseverance Mars rover finds more potential biosignatures
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:12 AM ET (1512 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, June 29
Has Rocket Lab launched us across political threshold?
Radio New Zealand — 5:46 am ET (0946 GMT) SpaceX launches rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base Sunday morning
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) SpaceX Valuation and Defense Demand Could Spark a Space-Tech IPO Wave in Warsaw, Creotech CEO Says
Bloomberg News — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) The Exploration Company is Recruiting for Its Nyx Crew Team in Houston
European Spaceflight — 5:36 am ET (0936 GMT) Euclid studies Milky Way center, supports future Roman observations
NasaSpaceFlight.com — 5:34 am ET (0934 GMT) |
