Nov 07,
2006
Asteroid Itokawa
The sharp contrast
between the surfaces of some asteroids and comets is
underscored by recent images of asteroid Itokawa. For the
electrical theorists, the contrast also illustrates the
crucial distinction between electrical deposition and
electrical excavation.
In the fall of
2005, the Japanese asteroid probe Hayabusa approached the
S-type (silicaceous/stony) asteroid Itokawa (25143), named
after the Japanese rocket scientist Hideo Itokawa. Though
the probe was unable to complete two planned landings to
gather dust samples from the asteroid, it did produce high
quality pictures of the asteroid’s surface that are now the
subject of much debate among astronomers.
As the electrical theorists see it, asteroids, comets, and
meteors, are all born by being torn from a planetary surface
in a cosmic plasma discharge or as the remains of rocky
bodies that exploded under the extreme electrical stresses.
The asteroid’s irregular shape is explicable because plasma
discharges are known to create “dumbbell” or “potato” shaped
forms from soils. The comet Halley is another well-known
potato shaped body. But crucial distinctions must be made
between comets and asteroids under the electrical
interpretation of their origin— distinctions that are
meaningless under conventional definitions of such bodies.
• The planetary soil and rock that is hurled into space will
be modified by its degree of exposure to the plasma
discharge. This is evident in the most abundant meteorites –
the chondritic meteorites, so named for the melted spherules
found within their dusty matrix. Some scientists have
acknowledged that the best explanation for their origin is
in a cosmic “lightning flash”. The velocity imparted to the
excavated material will determine whether it becomes an
asteroid or a comet. (The astronomer Tom Van Flandern has
argued, on the basis of their orbital characteristics, that
comets were formed by the explosion of a planet in the
asteroid belt).
• Itokawa’s density is said to be less than expected—up to
39% empty space. So researchers concluded it is probably
composed of smaller rocks that are held together by gravity.
However, this conclusion rests on an untested assumption
that the gravitational 'constant' we measure on Earth is the
same for all other bodies. In fact, it doesn't seem to be
constant on Earth!
We have now seen many dark, rocky bodies in space have such
low apparent densities that astronomers have been forced to
conclude they are “mostly empty space”. But the electrical
model of gravity suggests that if it looks like solid rock,
it probably is solid rock. The internal electrical state of
comets and meteorites differs from the Earth, and this leads
to erroneous calculations of their densities. Astronomers
have yet to reckon with the electrical origin of gravity.
(The most glaring example is the giant planet Saturn which,
on the astronomers’ calculations, should float on water, if
that were possible!)
• Astronomers expressed surprise at the absence of “impact
craters” in the Itokawa photos. (In fact, there appear to be
no craters on Itokawa, in contrast to the many craters seen
on other asteroids). This has caused some to suggest that
the asteroid is a “rubble pile”. But the electric model
suggests that asteroids, like chondritic meteorites, may
tend to aggregate material electrostatically. Asteroids that
have no cratering (Itokawa being the case par excellence)
are more likely to have acquired a boulder-strewn surface
subsequent to their violent birth, but that does not make
them just a heap of rubble.
• An active comet will experience electrical etching of its
surface. Surface material will be removed and new craters
formed. The comet will be “electrostatically cleaned”—a
prediction we made for Comet Tempel 1 in advance of the
“Deep Impact” encounter with the comet. The contrast between
the surface of Tempel 1 and that of Itokawa adds an
exclamation point to this prediction.
In the electric model comets, asteroids, and meteorites
originated in either the same or similar events. The model
thus predicts that, as we come to learn more about comets
and asteroids, we will see that their compositional types
match those of meteorites, a class of objects that has been
well studied.
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