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Encyclopedia > Asteroid moon
243 Ida and its moon Dactyl
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243 Ida and its moon Dactyl

An asteroid moon is an asteroid that orbits another asteroid. It is thought that many asteroids may possess moons, in some cases quite substantial in size. Asteroids with moons are commonly referred to as binary asteroids. The term double asteroid is sometimes used for systems in which the asteroid and its moon are roughly the same size. NASA image of 243 Ida and Dactyl. ... NASA image of 243 Ida and Dactyl. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... The term binary asteroid refers to a system in which two asteroids orbit their common centre of gravity, in analogy with binary stars. ... The term binary asteroid refers to a system in which two asteroids orbit their common centre of gravity, in analogy with binary stars. ...


The origin of asteroid moons is not currently known with certainty, and a variety of possibilities exist. A widely accepted theory is that asteroid moons are formed from debris knocked off of the primary asteroid by an impact. Other pairings may be formed when a small asteroid is captured by the gravity of a larger one.


The first asteroid moon to be identified was Dactyl which orbits 243 Ida. It was discovered by the Galileo probe in 1993. The second was discovered around 45 Eugenia in 1998. As of February 2004, nearly 37 more asteroid moons had been discovered by Earth-bound telescopes. Asteroid moons have been discovered orbiting main belt asteroids, Trojan asteroids, near-Earth objects, and Kuiper Belt objects. In 2005, the asteroid 87 Sylvia was discovered to have two moons, making it the first known triple asteroid. 243 Ida (left) and Dacytl (right), as photographed by Galileo. ... NASA image of 243 Ida. ... Galileo being deployed after being launched by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-34 mission Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 45 Eugenia is a large Main belt asteroid. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ... The asteroid belt is a region of the solar system falling roughly between the planets Mars and Jupiter where the greatest concentration of asteroid orbits can be found. ... Image of the Trojan asteroids in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. ... Near-Earth objects (NEO) are asteroids, comets and large meteoroids whose orbit intersects Earths orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger. ... The Kuiper belt (KYE per) is an area of the solar system extending from within the orbit of Neptune (at 30 AU) to 50 AU from the sun, at inclinations consistent with the ecliptic. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... 87 Sylvia (sil-vee-a) is one of the largest main belt asteroids. ...


An example of a double asteroid is 90 Antiope, where two equal-sized components orbit the common centre of gravity. 90 Antiope (an-tye-a-pee) is an asteroid discovered on October 1, 1866 by Robert Luther. ...


Notable asteroids with moons

Name Orbital type Diameter (km) Name of moon Diameter of moon (km) Distance between pair (km)
22 Kalliope main belt 181 (22) I Linus 38 1,063
45 Eugenia main belt 215 (45) I Petit-Prince 13 1,190
87 Sylvia main belt 287 (87) I Romulus 18 1,370
" " " (87) II Remus 7 706
90 Antiope main belt 110 S/2000 (90) 1 110 170
107 Camilla main belt 240X140 S/2001 (107) 1 9 1,000
121 Hermione main belt 240X150 S/2002 (121) 1, unofficially named LaFayette 13 795
243 Ida main belt 60X25 (243) I Dactyl 1.4 108
283 Emma main belt 148 S/2003 (283) 1 12 370
617 Patroclus Jupiter Trojan 105 S/2001 (617) 1 95 610
762 Pulcova main belt 137 S/2000 (762) 1 20 810
1509 Esclangona main belt 12 S/2003 (1509) 1 4 140
3671 Dionysus near-Earth asteroid 7 S/1997 (3671) 1 0.4 140
3749 Balam main belt 1.5 S/2002 (3749) 1 1.5 350
(26308) 1998 SM165 TNO 465 S/2001 (26308) 1 180 6,000
(47171) 1999 TC36 Plutino 680 S/2001 (47171) 1 290 8,000
(66391) 1999 KW4 near-Earth asteroid 1.2 S/2001 (66391) 1 0.4 2.2

For the geometric term, see diameter. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... 22 Kalliope (ka-lye-a-pee) is a very large main belt asteroid discovered by J. R. Hind on November 16, 1852. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 45 Eugenia is a large Main belt asteroid. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... Petit-Prince orbiting Eugenia Petit-Prince is an asteroid moon that orbits the larger asteroid 45 Eugenia. ... 87 Sylvia (sil-vee-a) is one of the largest main belt asteroids. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 90 Antiope (an-tye-a-pee) is an asteroid discovered on October 1, 1866 by Robert Luther. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 107 Camilla is one of the largest main belt asteroids. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 121 Hermione is a very large and dark main belt asteroid. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... NASA image of 243 Ida. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 243 Ida (left) and Dacytl (right), as photographed by Galileo. ... 283 Emma is a very large main belt asteroid. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... Image of the Trojan asteroids in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. ... 762 Pulcova is a main belt asteroid. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... 1509 Esclangona is a small asteroid discovered on December 21, 1938 by André Patry from Nice, France. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are asteroids whose orbit intersects Earths orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger, as well as being most easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... (47171) 1999 TC36 (also written: (47171) 1999 TC36) is a trans-Neptunian object. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a Pluto-like object, insofar as it has the same relative orbit as Pluto. ... (66391) 1999 KW4 (also written 1999 KW4) is an Aten and Mercury-crosser asteroid discovered by LINEAR in 1999. ... Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are asteroids whose orbit intersects Earths orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger, as well as being most easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth. ...

External links


The minor planetsedit
Vulcanoids | Main belt | Groups and families | Near-Earth objects | Jupiter Trojans
Centaurs | Trans-Neptunians | Damocloids | Comets | Kuiper belt | Oort cloud
(For other objects and regions, see: Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons and the Solar system)
(For a complete listing, see: List of asteroids. For pronunciation, see: Pronunciation of asteroid names.)

  Results from FactBites:
 
Asteroids.com: The Best Links to Asteroid Information (279 words)
The word Asteroid is most commonly used in science to describe a group of relatively tiny celestial objects that orbit the sun.
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter where 98.5% of the known minor planet orbits can be found Asteroids, or minor planets, are small celestial bodies composed of rock, ice, and some metal that orbit the Sun.
Discoveries of asteroid moons (and binary objects, in general) are very important because the determination of their orbits provides estimates (or at least constraints) on their density and mass allowing an insight into their physical properties, impossible otherwise.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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