Sun Changes Asteroid Orbits
It’s been discovered that the force of sunlight on an asteroid can change its orbit, which is one reason why asteroids change direction and head for Earth. What we don’t know is this: Will the increased solar activity on the sun right now have an increased effect on asteroids?
Eugenie Samuel Reich writes in New Scientist that astronomers have detected the influence of sunlight on asteroids for the first time, since it’s very subtle. However, it’s enough to coax them out of the Solar System’s asteroid belt and into an orbit that can impact Earth.
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