The Strength and Shapes of Contact Binary Objects

While contact binary objects are common in the solar system, their formation mechanism is unclear. In this work we examine several contact binaries and calculate the necessary strength parameters that allow the two lobes to merge without the smaller of the two being gravitationally destroyed by the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alex J. Meyer, Daniel J. Scheeres
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2853