8405 Asbolus - Definition

8405 Asbolus is a Centaur, that is, an icy asteroid that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune. It was discovered by James V. Scotti and Robert Jedicke of Spacewatch at Kitt Peak Observatory on March 28, 1995. It is named after Asbolus (Greek for sooty), a centaur in Greek mythology. Its provisional designation was 1995 GO.

Artist's impression of 8405 Asbolus

Asbolus is believed to be 66±4 km in diameter [1] (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2002AJ....123.1050F&db_key=AST&high=3d6ea7529520107). No visual images of it have ever been made but, in 1998, spectral analysis of its composition by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a fresh crater on its surface, less than 10 million years old. Centaurs are dark in colour, because their icy surfaces have darkened after long exposure to solar radiation and the solar wind. However, fresh craters excavate brighter, more reflective ice from below the surface, and that is what Hubble has detected on Asbolus.

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