The geology and geophysics of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth
- Creators
- Spencer, J.
- Stern, S.
- Moore, J.
- Weaver, H.
- Singer, K.
- Olkin, C.
- Verbiscer, A.
- Mckinnon, W.
- Parker, J. Wm.
- Beyer, R.
- Keane, J.
- Lauer, T.
- Porter, S.
- White, O.
- Buratti, B.
- El-Maarry, M.
- Lisse, C.
- Parker, A.
- Throop, H.
- Robbins, S.
- Umurhan, O.
- Binzel, R.
- Britt, D.
- Buie, M.
- Cheng, A.
- Cruikshank, D.
- Elliott, H.
- Gladstone, G.
- Grundy, W.
- Hill, M.
- Horányi, M.
- Jennings, D.
- Kavelaars, J.
- Linscott, I.
- Mccomas, D.
- Mcnutt, R.
- Protopapa, S.
- Reuter, D.
- Schenk, P.
- Showalter, M.
- Young, L.
- Zangari, A.
- Abedin, A.
- Beddingfield, C.
- Benecchi, S.
- Bernardoni, E.
- Bierson, C.
- Borncamp, D.
- Bray, V.
- Chaikin, A.
- Dhingra, R.
- Fuentes, C.
- Fuse, T.
- Gay, P.
- Gwyn, S.
- Hamilton, D.
- Hofgartner, J.
- Holman, M.
- Howard, A.
- Howett, C.
- Karoji, H.
- Kaufmann, D.
- Kinczyk, M.
- May, B.
- Mountain, M.
- Pätzold, M.
- Petit, J.-M.
- Piquette, M.
- Reid, I.
- Reitsema, H.
- Runyon, K.
- Sheppard, S.
- Stansberry, J.
- Stryk, T.
- Tanga, P.
- Tholen, D.
- Trilling, D.
- Wasserman, L.
- Others:
- Southwest Research Institute [Boulder] (SwRI)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ; NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Southwest Research Institute [San Antonio] (SwRI)
- Lowell Observatory [Flagstaff]
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder] (LASP) ; University of Colorado [Boulder]
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
- NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics ; National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
- Princeton University
- Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research (RIU) ; University of Cologne
- Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213) (UTINAM) ; Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC) ; Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL) ; University of Arizona
- Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE) ; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS) ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy [Flagstaff] ; Northern Arizona University [Flagstaff]
Description
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km long contact binary (486958) Arrokoth (2014 MU69), in January 2019. Images from the flyby show that Arrokoth has no detectable rings, and no satellites (larger than 180 meters diameter) within a radius of 8000 km, and has a lightly-cratered smooth surface with complex geological features, unlike those on previously visited Solar System bodies. The density of impact craters indicates the surface dates from the formation of the Solar System. The two lobes of the contact binary have closely aligned poles and equators, constraining their accretion mechanism.
Abstract
International audience
Additional details
- URL
- https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02884319
- URN
- urn:oai:HAL:hal-02884319v1
- Origin repository
- UNICA