In astronomy, a collisional family is a group of objects that are thought to have a common origin in an impact (collision). They have similar compositions and most share similar orbital elements.

Diagram showing the similarities between the satellites of each of the outer groups of Jovian moons

Known or suspected collisional families include numerous asteroid families,[1][2][3][4] most of the irregular moons of the outer planets, the Earth and the Moon,[5] and the dwarf planets Pluto, Eris, and Haumea and their respective moons.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131. S2CID 119280014.
  2. ^ Brown, Michael E.; Barkume, Kristina M.; Ragozzine, Darin; Schaller, Emily L. (2007). "A collisional family of icy objects in the Kuiper belt" (PDF). Nature. 446 (7133): 294–296. Bibcode:2007Natur.446..294B. doi:10.1038/nature05619. PMID 17361177. S2CID 4430027.
  3. ^ Chiang, E.~I. (July 2002). "A Collisional Family in the Classical Kuiper Belt". The Astrophysical Journal. 573 (1): L65–L68. arXiv:astro-ph/0205275. Bibcode:2002ApJ...573L..65C. doi:10.1086/342089. S2CID 18671789.
  4. ^ de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (11 February 2018). "Dynamically correlated minor bodies in the outer Solar system". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 474 (1): 838–846. arXiv:1710.07610. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.474..838D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2765. S2CID 73588205.
  5. ^ Taylor, G. Jeffrey (31 December 1998). "Origin of the Earth and Moon". Planetary Science Research Discoveries. Retrieved 7 April 2010.