Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-04-07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
11 pages, 3 figures, in press, 2010, Australian Space Science Conference Series: Proceedings of the 9th Australian Space Scien
Scientific paper
Gravitational and electronic forces produce a correlation between the mass and shape of objects in the universe. For example, at an average radius of ~ 200 km - 300 km, the icy moons and rocky asteroids of our Solar System transition from a rounded potato shape to a sphere. We derive this potato-to-sphere transition radius -- or "potato radius" -- from first principles. Using the empirical potato radii of asteroids and icy moons, we derive a constraint on the yield strength of these bodies during their formative years when their shapes were determined. Our proposed ~ 200 km potato radius for icy moons would substantially increase the number of trans-Neptunian objects classified as dwarf planets.
Lineweaver Charles H.
Norman Marc
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