2 research outputs found
A low density of 0.8 g/cc for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus
The Trojan population consists of two swarms of asteroids following the same
orbit as Jupiter and located at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points of the
Jupiter-Sun system (leading and following Jupiter by 60 degrees). The asteroid
617 Patroclus is the only known binary Trojan (Merline et al. 2001). The orbit
of this double system was hitherto unknown. Here we report that the components,
separated by 680 km, move around the system centre of mass, describing roughly
a circular orbit. Using the orbital parameters, combined with thermal
measurements to estimate the size of the components, we derive a very low
density of 0.8 g/cc. The components of Patroclus are therefore very porous or
composed mostly of water ice, suggesting that they could have been formed in
the outer part of the solar system.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Discovery of the triple asteroidal system 87 Sylvia
After decades of speculation(1), the existence of binary asteroids has been observationally confirmed(2,3), with examples in all minor planet populations(4). However, no triple systems have hitherto been discovered. Here we report the unambiguous detection of a triple asteroidal system in the main belt, composed of a 280-km primary ( 87 Sylvia) and two small moonlets orbiting at 710 and 1,360 km. We estimate their orbital elements and use them to refine the shape of the primary body. Both orbits are equatorial, circular and prograde, suggesting a common origin. Using the orbital information to estimate its mass and density, 87 Sylvia appears to have a rubble-pile structure with a porosity of 25 - 60 per cent. The system was most probably formed through the disruptive collision of a parent asteroid, with the new primary resulting from accretion of fragments, while the moonlets are formed from the debris, as has been predicted previously(5)