Is there any reason to think an M-type asteroid could not have migrated beyond Jupiter and entered an orbit similar to the Centaurs?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
-
$\begingroup$ Then it would be a centaur, would it not? How would we still know it was an M-type asteroid? $\endgroup$– AtmosphericPrisonEscapeSep 19, 2019 at 10:14
-
$\begingroup$ @AtmosphericPrisonEscape I was under the impression centaurs are icy, comet-like bodies, who were originally KBO, astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/C/Centaurs. I thought the metallic asteroids originated in the Asteroid Belt. I'm not asking if such an asteroid could be identified, just is there any reason a metallic asteroid could not end up in an orbit between Jupiter and Neptune. $\endgroup$– Bob516Sep 19, 2019 at 16:42
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
According to the Grand Tack Hypothesis, in the early solar system, Jupiter and Saturn migrated inwards and then outwards, scattering asteroids as they did so.
In this hypothesis it seems inevitable that some m-type asteroids will have ended up in orbits with large semi-major axes.
