Based on the internal and surface properties described in Barnouin et al. (2024), this video demonstrates how the spin-up of asteroid Didymos could have led to the growth of its equatorial ridge and the formation of the smaller asteroid Dimorphos, seen orbiting the former near the end of the clip. Particles are colored according to their speeds, with the scale shown at the top, along with the continually changing spin period of Didymos. (Credit: University of Michigan/Yun Zhang and Johns Hopkins APL/Olivier Barnouin)
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NASA ID
Didymos_ridgeformation
Date Created
July 30, 2024
Center
LaRC
Media Type
video
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