(IMAGE)

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University

Caption

Two diamond shaped, rubble-pile asteroids have been observed near Earth, and were photographed by unmanned spacecrafts in 2018 and 2019. Scientists at OIST and Rutgers University have used a simple model normally reserved for the flow of grains to explain their unusual shape. In this image, a photograph of one of the asteroids, Bennu, is shown on the left. On the right, a simulation using the model is shown. As can be seen, the shape of the simulation matches that of Bennu.

Credit

OIST

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License

CC BY

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