NASA's Lucy Finds 'Dinky' Asteroid's Moon is Two Fused Asteroids
TL;DR
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has discovered that asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh, nicknamed 'Dinky,' has a small moon named Selam, which is a contact binary. This moon likely formed from material spun off Dinkinesh due to the YORP effect, which increased the asteroid's rotation. The findings provide insights into the formation of asteroid moons and are published in Nature.
- Asteroid 'Dinky,' visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft, birthed its own moon Space.com
- NASA Lucy Images Reveal Asteroid Dinkinesh to be Surprisingly Complex NASA
- Moon orbiting 'Dinky' asteroid is actually two tiny moons stuck together Phys.org
- Moon Around Asteroid Dinkinesh Is Actually Two Asteroids Stuck Together IFLScience
- The odd moon orbiting a 'Dinky' asteroid is actually two moons fused together Popular Science
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