A Low-Density M-type Asteroid in the Main Belt

Creators: Margot, J. L.; Brown, M. E.

Abstract

The orbital parameters of a satellite revolving around 22 Kalliope indicate that the bulk density of this main-belt asteroid is 2.37 ± 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter. M-type asteroids such as Kalliope are thought to be the disrupted metallic cores of differentiated bodies. The low density indicates that Kalliope cannot be predominantly composed of metal and may be composed of chondritic material with ∼30% porosity. The satellite orbit is circular, suggesting that Kalliope and its satellite have different internal structures and tidal dissipation rates. The satellite may be an aggregate of impact ejecta from an earlier collision with Kalliope.

Additional Information

© 2003 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 17 April 2003; accepted 19 May 2003. We are grateful to M. Britton for follow-up observations at Palomar and to P. Goldreich, T. Ahrens, and M. Pritchard for insightful discussions. J.L.M. thanks S. Kulkarni for financial support. Some of the data presented here were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. We extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests. Without their generous hospitality, many of the observations presented here would not have been possible.

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A Low-Density M-type Asteroid in the Main Belt

Abstract

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