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
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, September 7
Merz to skip Macron’s space summit
POLITICO — 12:55 am ET (0455 GMT) Arianespace CEO Projects Space Summit to Boost Backlog
Aviation Week — 12:54 am ET (0454 GMT) Concern, praise, and uncertainty in Pecan Island over massive SpaceX project
WWL-TV New Orleans — 12:46 am ET (0446 GMT) Brownsville shrimper suspects SpaceX debris ruined $12K in fishing gear
KRGV-TV Weslaco, TX — 12:45 am ET (0445 GMT) New UK Space Strategy Prioritizes Domestic Launch Capacity
Aviation Week — 12:44 am ET (0444 GMT) |
