University of Tennessee, Knoxville | 2014 Aug 13
Researchers at UT have made a novel discovery that may potentially protect the world from future collisions with asteroids.
The team studied near-Earth asteroid 1950 DA and discovered that the body, which rotates so quickly it defies gravity, is held together by cohesive forces, called van der Waals, never before detected on an asteroid.
The findings, published in this week’s edition of the science journal Nature, have potential implications for defending our planet from a massive asteroid impact.
Previous research has shown that asteroids are loose piles of rubble held together by gravity and friction. However, the UT team found that 1950 DA is spinning so quickly that it defies these forces. Ben Rozitis, a postdoctoral researcher; Eric MacLennan, a doctoral candidate; and Joshua Emery, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, wanted to know what keeps the body from breaking apart.
Looking at thermal images and orbital drift to calculate thermal inertia and bulk density, the team detected the action of cohesive forces in an environment with little gravity. ...
Cohesive forces prevent the rotational breakup of rubble-pile asteroid (29075) 1950 DA - Ben Rozitis, Eric MacLennan, Joshua P. Emery
- Nature 512(7513) 174 (14 Aug 2014) DOI: 10.1038/nature13632