Landslides may have given the asteroid Bennu its spinning-top appearance
Asteroids that are shaped like spinning tops, such as Bennu and Ryugu, may have been slowed down and shaped by a series of huge landslides Space 29 June 2022 Copyright: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Huge landslides on the asteroid Bennu and other, similar space rocks may have been far more important to their evolution than researchers previously realised. They may have given these asteroid s their odd spinning-top shapes, as well as slowed their rotation and helped prevent them from falling apart. Bennu is most likely a rubble-pile asteroid , meaning that instead of one big rock, it is made of many chunks of rock held together by gravity. This means that it isn’t particularly hard for even a relatively small impact by … No commitment, cancel anytime* Offer ends 14th March 2023. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues. Existing subscribers, please log in with your email address to link ...