• Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. • Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of the surprisingly simple process that could be responsible for their creation.
Article Summaries:
- Astronomers have long puzzled over the “snow‑man” shapes of many icy bodies in the outer solar system. A study led by Michigan State University now presents evidence that a simple gravitational collapse process can produce these contact binaries. By modeling how two small objects can merge under their own gravity, the researchers show that the resulting shape resembles a snowman. This finding offers a straightforward explanation for the prevalence of such shapes among distant icy bodies and may help refine theories of how these objects form and evolve.
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