Asteroid 1998 KY26 Accelerates Due to Solar Radiation Pressure, Not Ice
Summary
Asteroid 1998 KY26 is unlikely to contain ice and is probably being pushed off course by solar radiation pressure. New temperature modeling suggests the small, fast-rotating object is too warm for subsurface ice to survive, weakening the dark comet theory.
Key Points
- Researchers say 1998 KY26 is too warm to preserve subsurface ice for long, making the dark comet hypothesis unlikely.
- The asteroid’s unusual motion may instead be explained by solar radiation pressure.
- The object rotates once every 5.35 minutes and has an average temperature of at least 212 Kelvin during its orbit.
- Japan’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft is expected to reach KY26 in July 2031, which may help solve the mystery.
