Binary asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term binary asteroid refers to a system in which two asteroids orbit their common center of mass, in analogy with binary stars.
Asteroids that have moons of roughly the same size are sometimes called "double asteroids" or "doublet asteroids". An example is the 90 Antiope system. Binary asteroids with a small satellite, called "moonlet" have been more visually observed (see 22 Kalliope, 45 Eugenia, 87 Sylvia, 107 Camilla, 121 Hermione, 130 Elektra, 283 Emma, 379 Huenna, etc.)
[edit] See also
Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Main belt · Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Damocloids · Comets · Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt • Scattered disc • Oort cloud)
For other objects and regions, see Asteroid groups and families, Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons and the Solar System.
For a complete listing, see List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names.