Jumping over space dust makes asteroids look rougher
Like corn kernels popping in a frying pan, tiny dust grains can jump up and down the asteroid’s surface, according to a new study from physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder. That popcorn-like effect could even help tidy up smaller asteroids, causing them to lose dust and look rough and craggy from space. The researchers published their results July 11 in the journal Natural Astronomy . Their findings could help scientists better understand how asteroids change shape over time – and how these objects migrate through space, sometimes bringing them very close to Earth, said Hsiang-Wen (Sean) Hsu, lead author of the study. the. “The more fine-grained material, or regolith, these asteroids lost, the faster they migrated,” said Hsu, a research associate in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at CU Boulder. The research started with some curious photos. In 2020, a NASA spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx traveled more than 1 billion miles to meet the asteroid (191055)