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In the main asteroid belt, there appear to be two primary populations of asteroid: a dark, volatile-rich population, consisting of the C-type and P-type asteroids, with albedos less than 0.10 and densities under 2.2 g/cm 3, and a dense, volatile-poor population, consisting of the S-type and M-type asteroids, with albedos over 0.15 and densities ...
These are composed primarily of S-type asteroids, whereas the neighboring Hungaria family includes some E-types. [101] The Phocaea family orbit between 2.25 and 2.5 AU from the Sun. [102] Skirting the outer edge of the asteroid belt is the Cybele group, orbiting between 3.3 and 3.5 AU. These have a 7:4 orbital resonance with Jupiter.
The asteroids Bennu and Ryugu have a measured bulk density which suggests that their internal structure is a rubble pile. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Many comets and most smaller minor planets (<10 km in diameter) are thought to be composed of coalesced rubble.
Approximately 8% of known main belt asteroids are similar in composition to 16 Psyche. [10] [11] One company, Planetary Resources, is already aiming to develop technologies with the goal of using them to mine asteroids. Planetary Resources estimates some 30-meter long asteroids to contain as much as $25 to $50 billion worth of platinum. [12]
Interlopers are asteroids classified as family members based on their so-called proper orbital elements but having spectroscopic properties distinct from the bulk of the family, suggesting that they, contrary to the true family members, did not originate from the same parent body that once fragmented upon a collisional impact.
In the moments before NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos in a landmark planetary defense test in 2022, it took high-resolution images of this small celestial object and its ...
C-type (carbonaceous / ˌ k ɑːr b ə ˈ n eɪ ʃ ə s /) asteroids are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids. [1] They are volatile-rich and distinguished by a very low albedo because their composition includes a large amount of carbon, in addition to rocks and minerals. They have an average density of about 1.7 g/cm 3.
In 1975, astronomers Clark R. Chapman, David Morrison, and Ben Zellner developed a simple taxonomic system for asteroids based on color, albedo, and spectral shape.The three categories were labelled "C" for dark carbonaceous objects, "S" for stony (siliceous) objects, and "U" for those that did not fit into either C or S. [2] This basic division of asteroid spectra has since been expanded and ...