Binaries among NEAs and Small Main Belt Asteroids: Angular Momentum and Other Properties

Details Binaries among NEAs and Small Main Belt Asteroids: Angular Momentum and Other Properties Binaries among NEAs and Small Main Belt Asteroids: Angular Momentum and Other Properties

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.6501p&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #65.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.614

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

There are now about 100 binary minor planets known, with about one new discovery per month. Our current "Binary Asteroid Photometric Survey" has revealed an abundant population of binaries among asteroids smaller than about 10 km diameter and including near-Earth as well as main belt asteroids, in similar numbers. We will discuss observed major characteristics of the population. A significant common characteristic of the small binaries is that they have a total angular momentum very close to, but not generally exceeding, the critical limit for a single rubble pile body. This suggests that asteroid binaries with primary diameters about 10 km and smaller formed at the critical spin rate, and that little or no angular momentum has been added or removed after the binary was formed. We see a slight difference between NEA and Main Belt binaries in that the latter tend to have slightly longer primary spin and secondary orbital periods, consistent with some degree of tidal evolution since formation. This may be a size effect, since the MB systems tend to be a bit larger than the NEA systems, or it may be because the NEAs are younger, or both. The fact that the small binary population is not limited to NEAs but also includes a similar fraction of small main belt asteroids suggests that the binary formation mechanism may not be related to close tidal encounters with the terrestrial planets.

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