[ad_1]
Astronomers say that an asteroid close to the Earth reflects light in a mysterious and interesting way that requires a lot of study.
Based on a new study of how Phaethon reverses light from different angles, astronomers believe that its surface reflects less light.
They explained that this may be the result of a darker surface than expected, or the presence of some unexpected substances on the body "strange."
The asteroid known as "3200 Phaethon" approaches the Earth in 2017, revealing Notes on a huge, mysterious space in the middle. The oldest distance (10.3 km) from the Earth was recorded on December 16th.
An international team of astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
and studied changes in the polarization of light, reflected in different lighting angles.
The results show that the light reflected in some angles is the most polarized light ever observed between small objects in the Earth. The solar system
It was found that the "Phaethon" discovered in 1983, is the mother of the meteorite "Geminid". But the origin of this body does not seem to be a meteor, but an active asteroid distinguished by an astonishing blue color.
A possible explanation of the strong polarization suggests that the Phaethon surface may be darker than expected. When the light on the coarse surface is reflected to another part of the surface before reflection towards the observer, this multiple scattering randomizes the polarization.
Other possibilities that may reduce the effectiveness of multiple scattering explain that the debris covering the surface of the Phaethon
The elevation of the surface temperature of Phaethon up to 1000 ° C by reaching the nearest point of the sun can cause sintering of the surface of the asteroid and the appearance of coarse protuberances.
The DESTINY probe + from the Japanese Space Agency Its launch in 2022, taking pictures of the blue asteroid to help scientists
Source: Daily Mail
Linked
[ad_2]
Source link
