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.

Crediti:

ESO/M. Martins

A proposito dell'immagine

Identificazione:eso0916a
Tipo:Illustrazione
Data di pubblicazione:22 Aprile 2009
Notizie relative:eso0916
Dimensione:3447 x 1772 px

A proposito delll'oggetto

Nome:Asteroid
Tipo:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid
Categoria:Illustrations
Solar System

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