Asteroids, small rocky bodies which orbit the Sun, have been found in some cases to come in pairs, called binary asteroids. Asteroids do not have to be spherically shaped like planets, but can, in fact, have irregular shapes that look like giant potatoes. The orbital behaviors of these binary, irregular asteroids can be difficult to model. This article presents a new way to model the orbital behavior of these binary asteroids, leading to a better understanding of their dynamics.
|