Internal structure of Near-Earth Objects

Richard P. Binzel (1) , Wlodek Kofman (2)

1 EAPS - Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences [MIT, Cambridge]
2 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble

For the purposes of mitigation, the internal structure of near-Earth objects (NEOs) remains one of the most important but least understood parameters. From a science point of view, the internal structure is equally intriguing. Knowledge of the internal structure can reveal the collisional history, and in the case of comets, may also reveal the accretional history. Here we briefly review some of our current understanding of asteroid interiors and focus on the application of radar and radiowave tomography techniques that may be applied to study NEO interiors.

Keywords: Near-Earth object; Asteroid interior

Richard P. Binzel, Wlodek Kofman. Internal structure of Near-Earth Objects. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2005, 6 (3), pp.321-326. ⟨10.1016/j.crhy.2005.01.001⟩. ⟨insu-00356018⟩