Astrophysics (Index)About

asteroid family

(set of asteroids based on similar orbits)

An asteroid family is a set of asteroids selected on the basis of their similar orbits. They are thought to form by interactions between asteroids, such as collisions, which may have broken larger asteroids into the current family members. They are generally named for a prominent member, e.g., the Vesta family is named after the asteroid, Vesta. Other asteroids with such associated families include Alinda, Cybele, Eos, Eunomia, Flora, Hilda, Hungaria, Hygiea, Koronis, Maria, Nysa, Pallas, Phocaea, and Themis.


(minor planets,solar system,asteroids)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Asteroid_groups_and_families
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Asteroids_Families_of_asteroids
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006IAUS..229..289N/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015aste.book..297N/abstract
http://asteroids.matf.bg.ac.rs/fam/index.php

Referenced by pages:
asteroid belt
cosmic dust

Index