Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By Carolyn Collins Petersen, TheSpacewriter
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Why Do Some Asteroids Spin Themselves to Dust?

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Astronomers Spy Out Active Asteroids

Active asteroid P/2012 F5 captured by Keck II/DEIMOS in mid-2014. Top panel shows a wide-angle view of the main nucleus and smaller fragments embedded in a long dust trail. Bottom panel shows a close-up view with the trail numerically removed to enhance the visibility of the fragments.  CREDIT: M. DRAHUS, W. WANIAK (OAUJ) / W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY

In the “Department of Unusual Solar System Activities” today we have a close look at a type of asteroid that may spin so fast that it literally explodes itself as it ejects dust out to space. This comes to us courtesy of the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawai’i, and a team of astronomers at the Jagellonian University of Krakow, Poland. To date, astronomers know of a handful of these busy objects and are seeking to understand why they do what they do.

The main asteroid belt of our solar system is likely a pretty orderly place, with asteroids moving along in their orbits without too many collisions, sort of like a well-run superhighway. But, sometimes things happen, even on a smoothly moving roadway. One car runs into another and that sets one or both of them spinning. Or, a truck has a blowout on its tire, and that sends it weaving all over the road.

In the case of the asteroid belt, which is home to the very fascinating Ceres dwarf planet (currently being studied by the Dawn spacecraft), we’re talking about “active asteroids” that are posing some interesting challenges to astronomers studying them. These are asteroids that eject steams of ice particles out as they orbit, most of the time in a steady jet. But, in 2010, astronomers found a more “explody” version of these objects. They eject material in shots, sort of like that tire blowout. The reasons they do this aren’t clear yet, but there are two ideas to explain them. One is that two objects—one moving very fast (say, at hypervelocity (which means really high velocity)) running into another. That causes one or both to catastrophically spew ice particles and dust to space in giant spurts.

The other idea is that an active asteroid experiences “rotational disruption”. That literally means it rotates so fast and wildly that it alters the shape of the asteroid, introducing cracks and crevices and fragmenting the body. As the active asteroid spins, it launches dust and ice chunks, which further unbalancing itself. Eventually, it can break apart.

The astronomers on the team using Keck focused in on a specific one that had caught their interest to see if they could capture a view of one of these tiny objects and figure out what makes it so unusual. The object they chose is called P/2012 F5, which had a big dust outburst in 2011. They wanted to measure its rotation rate (how fast it spins on its axes), and whether or not it was fragmented and broken apart. They found four large fragments in the object, which is rotating once every 3.2 hours. That’s fast enough to cause these impulsive explosions that result in dust and ice outbursts. For now, this object is still one big fragmented body. As it rotates, it is heated by the Sun on different sides and it’s possible that one day it will rotate itself apart, sending more ice and dust and fragments into space.

Interestingly, P/2012 F5 was first thought to be a comet due to its outbursts. Astronomers now know that it’s a fragmented asteroid, acting like a comet. Why it’s rotating and how it got fragmented—those are questions still to be answered.

Back in graduate school, we often talked about “asteroids acting like comets”, although they were quite rare. Now, what was once rare is an observable object, giving us another look at how amazing varied the places in our solar system can be.


Source: http://thespacewriter.com/wp/2015/03/20/why-do-some-asteroids-spin-themselves-to-dust/


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.