Rosetta flyby of Asteroid Steins, 5th September 2008 |
Rosetta flyby of Asteroid Steins, 5th September 2008 |
Jun 19 2008, 06:53 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 571 Joined: 20-April 05 From: Silesia Member No.: 299 |
Only 78 days to Stein encounter ! I can't believe I forgot about this event.
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Jun 21 2008, 11:35 AM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 30-January 05 Member No.: 162 |
Do we have any radar data indicating binary/satellite existence for any asteroid in this size range ?
Just wondering what the odds are for 'nother Dactyl type discovery. Would 200+ images for albedo study yield enough light curve data to rule out a satellite? Particularly one that was in an orbit inclined enough so that the satellite was never eclipsed or transited the primary. |
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Jun 21 2008, 05:00 PM
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#3
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8789 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Do we have any radar data indicating binary/satellite existence for any asteroid in this size range ? Wasn't there an NEO radar-imaged by Aricebo that was a small binary object? It's certainly possible that Steins is binary or has a small satellite, but if so I suspect it would have to have been the product of a weak, recent impact event. There's not a lot of gravitation exerted by a 4.6 km body. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Jun 21 2008, 08:39 PM
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#4
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Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4405 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
Wasn't there an NEO radar-imaged by Aricebo that was a small binary object? It's certainly possible that Steins is binary or has a small satellite, but if so I suspect it would have to have been the product of a weak, recent impact event. There's not a lot of gravitation exerted by a 4.6 km body. There has been a multitude of such objects. Castalia was the first one. Arecibo and Goldstone will be observing the upcoming flyby of 2008 BT18 (July 6 and 7 for Arecibo, July 11 for Goldstone]. It will pass about 2.3 million kilometers away and is 700 to 800 meters across, so we should get some nice images and, with some luck, maybe another binary. -------------------- |
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