An artificial impact on the asteroid (162173) Ryugu formed a crater in the gravity-dominated regime.

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Title: An artificial impact on the asteroid (162173) Ryugu formed a crater in the gravity-dominated regime.
Authors: Arakawa, M., Saiki, T., Wada, K., Ogawa, K., Kadono, T., Shirai, K., Sawada, H., Ishibashi, K., Honda, R., Sakatani, N., Iijima, Y., Okamoto, C., Yano, H., Takagi, Y., Hayakawa, M., Michel, P., Jutzi, M., Shimaki, Y., Kimura, S., Mimasu, Y.
Source: Science (pre-March 2025). 4/3/2020, Vol. 367 Issue 6486, p67-71. 5p. 1 Color Photograph, 2 Black and White Photographs, 1 Graph.
Subjects: Asteroids, Sedimentation & deposition, Gravity, Scaling laws (Nuclear physics), Velocity distribution (Statistical mechanics)
Abstract: The Hayabusa2 spacecraft investigated the small asteroid Ryugu, which has a rubble-pile structure. We describe an impact experiment on Ryugu using Hayabusa2's Small Carry-on Impactor. The impact produced an artificial crater with a diameter >10 meters, which has a semicircular shape, an elevated rim, and a central pit. Images of the impact and resulting ejecta were recorded by the Deployable CAMera 3 for >8 minutes, showing the growth of an ejecta curtain (the outer edge of the ejecta) and deposition of ejecta onto the surface. The ejecta curtain was asymmetric and heterogeneous and it never fully detached from the surface. The crater formed in the gravity-dominated regime; in other words, crater growth was limited by gravity not surface strength. We discuss implications for Ryugu's surface age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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Abstract:The Hayabusa2 spacecraft investigated the small asteroid Ryugu, which has a rubble-pile structure. We describe an impact experiment on Ryugu using Hayabusa2's Small Carry-on Impactor. The impact produced an artificial crater with a diameter >10 meters, which has a semicircular shape, an elevated rim, and a central pit. Images of the impact and resulting ejecta were recorded by the Deployable CAMera 3 for >8 minutes, showing the growth of an ejecta curtain (the outer edge of the ejecta) and deposition of ejecta onto the surface. The ejecta curtain was asymmetric and heterogeneous and it never fully detached from the surface. The crater formed in the gravity-dominated regime; in other words, crater growth was limited by gravity not surface strength. We discuss implications for Ryugu's surface age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00368075
DOI:10.1126/science.aaz1701