Tracking the rotation of an asteroid as it approaches the Earth can reveal the density distribution in it, just like the rotation of an egg tells you whether it is cooked or raw. Such work will help determine the best points to impact and reduce celestial bodies from dangerous trajectories.
Recently, both scientists and the public have been very concerned about protecting the earth from asteroid threats. Not long ago, the DART space probe successfully collided with a small celestial body , proving that such an impact would likely take it away from dangerous roads. However, the best way to strike depends not only on the mass and trajectory of the asteroid, but also on its internal structure. Therefore, scientists at MIT (MIT) have proposed a new approach that allows you to determine this structure remotely. Their paper has been published in the journal MNRAS.
principle is to track the trajectory and rotation of an asteroid when it approaches the earth. These parameters depend not only on the mass, speed and shape of the celestial body, but also on the density distribution inside the celestial body. Jack Dinsmore and Julien de With of MIT compare the effect of to an egg, which can be rotated to tell whether it is cooked or raw. This effect is demonstrated in computer models, based on which scientists developed the AIME (internal mapping from encounters asteroids) system.
In the near future, researchers will test AIME on one of the most famous near-Earth asteroids, Apophis . “In 2029, Apophis will be close to Earth and will fly by the next time it approaches, but we can’t be sure it will stay safe forever,” explains Jack Dinsmore. “So it’s better to determine the structure of this asteroid, and if we need to move it from the path, we already know what it is made of.” “With the density distribution of the asteroid, you can accurately find the right point,” adds Julien De Wit.
