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NASA Flyby Reveals Violent Origin of Weird Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
Gizmodo • • science
Key Points:
- On April 20, 2025, NASA's Lucy spacecraft conducted a close flyby of the peanut-shaped asteroid Donaldjohanson, capturing detailed images that revealed its cratered surface and unusual shape.
- Researchers determined that Donaldjohanson is a fragment from the Erigone asteroid family, originating from a violent collision about 155 million years ago that shattered a larger parent body approximately 50 miles wide.
- The asteroid's surface shows evidence of past impacts, including seismic shaking that erased smaller craters, and contains iron-bearing phyllosilicates indicative of early liquid water altering its minerals.
- Lucy's mission, launched in 2021, aims to study various asteroids en route to the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter, with upcoming visits planned for several Trojan bodies starting in 2027.
- These observations provide valuable insights into the evolution of near-Earth asteroids and contribute to understanding the solar system's formation and history.
