Rare Triple Asteroid Found Orbiting Near Earth

Rare Triple Asteroid Found Orbiting Near Earth

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"This discovery has extremely important implications for ideas about the origins of near-Earth asteroids and the processes responsible for their physical properties," said Cornell University and Arecibo astronomer Michael C. Nolan. "Double, or binary, asteroid systems are known to be fairly common — about one in six near-Earth asteroids is a binary — but this is the first near-Earth triple system to be discovered."

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www.space.com
www.universetoday.com
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www.astronomy.com

Man o man, what's with all the asteroids lately? Are we in some sort of debris field?

In any event, it does seem odd to find a triple-asteroid system. The pictures indicate that there is one main, almost circular asteroid, with two smaller, irregular bodies floating around nearby.

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