Young asteroids look old

Artist’s impression of how the solar wind makes young asteroids look old. After undergoing a catastrophic collision, the colour of an asteroid gets modified rapidly by the solar wind so that it resembles the mean colour of extremely old asteroids. After the first million years, the surface “tans” much more slowly. At that stage, the colour depends more on composition than on age.

Credit:

ESO/M. Martins

Over de afbeelding

Id:eso0916a
Type:Ontwerp
Publicatiedatum:22 april 2009
Gerelateerde berichten:eso0916
Grootte:3447 x 1772 px

Over het object

Naam:Asteroid
Type:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid
Categorie:Illustrations
Solar System

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