Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
The Lucy flyby of (52246) Donaldjohanson: A bilobed asteroid with tumbling rotation. |
| Authors: |
Marchi, Simone (AUTHOR), Levison, Harold F. (AUTHOR), Noll, Keith S. (AUTHOR), Spencer, John R. (AUTHOR), Statler, Thomas S. (AUTHOR), Barnouin, Olivier S. (AUTHOR), Bell III, James F. (AUTHOR), Bierhaus, Edward B. (AUTHOR), Binzel, Richard (AUTHOR), Bottke, William F. (AUTHOR), Britt, Daniel (AUTHOR), Brown, Michael E. (AUTHOR), Buie, Marc W. (AUTHOR), Christensen, Philip R. (AUTHOR), Dello Russo, Neil (AUTHOR), Emery, Joshua P. (AUTHOR), Grundy, William M. (AUTHOR), Hamilton, Victoria E. (AUTHOR), Howett, Carly (AUTHOR), Kaplan, Hannah H. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: |
Science. 6/18/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6804, p1287-1291. 5p. |
| Subjects: |
Asteroids, Rotational motion, Hydration, Space vehicles, Astrophysical collisions, Impact craters |
| Abstract: |
The main belt asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson (DJ) is a likely member of the Erigone asteroid family. This implies that DJ is a fragment of a larger parent body that was destroyed in a collision about 155 million years ago. We report observations taken during a flyby of DJ by the Lucy spacecraft. We found that DJ is composed of two heavily cratered lobes, connected by a smoother neck, with overall dimensions 8.8 kilometers (km) by 4.4 km by 3.1 km. The crater density is consistent with the Erigone family's age, except for craters <0.4 km, which have been preferentially erased. DJ rotates slowly in a tumbling state, likely owing to spin-down by radiative forces. Surface spectra show iron-bearing phyllosilicates, indicating moderate aqueous evolution on the parent body. Editor's summary: The Erigone asteroid family was probably produced by a catastrophic collision that broke up a parent body. Marchi et al. present results from the Lucy spacecraft flyby of the small asteroid Donaldjohanson, a likely member of the Erigone family, finding that it has a bilobed shape and a smooth neck region. Small craters have been preferentially erased, possibly by seismic shaking after a larger impact. The asteroid is slowly tumbling, not simply rotating, which the authors model as being due to a resonance that arose while it gradually slowed from an initially fast spin rate. —Keith T. Smith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
