New Images Reveal That This Asteroid Is Actually Two Conjoined Space Rocks. They Form a Peanut-Shaped Object Called a 'Contact Binary'
Reported bySmithsonian Smart News ↗·Sourced by Goodlede
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft flew past asteroid Torifune on July 5, 2026, capturing high-resolution imagery from half a mile away that revealed the 1,475-foot object is a contact binary—two space rocks stuck together. The data gathered will help planetary defense against potentially threatening asteroids.
Researchers have never observed contact binaries form, so the exact mechanisms of how these objects merge remain theoretical.
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