asteroid family
Let an agent handle asteroid families by membership, parent body, age, identification method and links to meteorites.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle asteroid families by membership, parent body, age, identification method and links to meteorites.
A group of asteroids with similar proper orbital elements, such as semi-major axis, eccentricity and inclination, thought to be fragments of a single parent body broken up by a past collision; examples include the Vesta, Flora, Themis, Koronis and Eos families.
What it is for: Understanding collisional history of the asteroid belt.
It can be identify the family of an asteroid; explain how families are found; estimate family ages; link families to meteorite types.
Distinguishing features
Common collisional origin
Similar proper elements
Often similar spectra
First identified by Hirayama in 1918
What it looks like
Clusters in plots of orbital elements rather than visible groups.
How it is recognised
Clusters in proper element space
Named after the largest member
Asteroid groups defined by orbit region are broader
Related models
is a kind of - category
is made up of - members
is related to - samples
is identified by - method
In practice
Families and kinds
cratering families such as Vesta
catastrophic disruption families such as Themis and Koronis
young families
Hungaria and other inner families
Standards and regulation
Minor Planet Center designations
Published family catalogues
Failure modes and hazards
Including interlopers as members
Treating memberships as fixed
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Membership Which family.
Members share orbits.
Family
Assignment.
Family
Family assignment.
- Which family does this asteroid belong to, according to catalogues? provenance
- Could it be an interloper? boundary
Parent
Parent body.
Parent
Parent body.
- What was the parent body, and is it still present? provenance
- How large was it? measurement
Method Identification.
Methods find clusters.
Elements
Proper elements.
Elements
Proper elements.
- How are proper elements computed and clustered? definition
- Which algorithm is used? provenance
Spectra
Composition.
Spectra
Spectral support.
- Do the members share spectral types? provenance
- What composition does that suggest? definition
Age History.
Families age.
Dating
Age estimates.
Dating
Age estimates.
- How old is the family, and how was the age estimated? measurement
- What role does the Yarkovsky effect play? definition
Evolution
Dispersal.
Evolution
Dispersal.
- How do families disperse over time? definition
- Which resonances remove members? definition
Links Meteorites and missions.
Families connect to samples.
Meteorites
Sources.
Meteorites
Meteorite links.
- Is the family linked to a meteorite type, such as Vesta and HED meteorites? provenance
- How strong is the evidence? boundary
Missions
Spacecraft.
Missions
Missions.
- Have spacecraft visited members of this family? provenance
- What did they find? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Should each family be a separate entry?
- How should family catalogues be linked?
- How should membership uncertainty be recorded?