Dr. Dan Britt
UCF

University of Florida Astronomy Colloquium - Feb. 28th, 2007

The Density Structure of Small Bodies in the Solar System

A range of observations have begun to fill in the story of the density of small bodies (asteroids, comets, moons) in the solar system. The most surprising finding is how underdense small bodies are across all compositional types and solar system locations. Rubble-pile structures with large-scale porosities of 30-40% are common in asteroids and porosities can rise to 70-80% in comets. This lack of coherent structure has major implications for the design of missions to small bodies.