Lebanese Ministry of Information
|Scientists have discovered an asteroid with such a strange surface that they have named it the “golf ball”.
The rock is the most heavily cratered object ever to be seen in the asteroid belt and is “like discovering a new world”, according to the researchers who found it. And in addition to the strange holes, it also has a mysterious “bright spot” on its surface.
Now researchers think that the surface is a consequence of its orbit. As it moves around the Sun, it has to smash its way through to take its lonely course. Because it comes at an angle, the collisions are especially damaging, leaving the cratered service that has now been revealed in the images.
“From these images, we can now say that Pallas is the most cratered object that we know of in the asteroid belt. It’s like discovering a new world.”
As well as the huge variety of holes, Pallas also has a bright spot in its surface, researchers discovered while examining the object.
Scientists don’t know where that is coming from. The most likely theory is that it is a huge chunk of salt, which may have been exposed after one of its collisions.
“People have proposed missions to Pallas with very small, cheap satellites,” Marsset says. “I don’t know if they would happen, but they could tell us more about the surface of Pallas and the origin of the bright spot.”
The Independent
