Published in Nature Astronomy · View the paper (DOI)
Researchers investigate how Arrokoth's pancake-flat shape emerged from the formation process of the Solar System. They suggest that the body may have started as a merger between a spherical and an oblate body, or that its shape developed gradually due to favorable orbital conditions.
Coverage from 2 institutions
- Arrokoth: Flattening of a snowman Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research · Oct 5, 2020 · first to report
- Mass loss driven shape evolution model unveils formation of flattened 'snowman' (486958) Arrokoth Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters · Oct 12, 2020