E-Type Asteroid (2867) Steins as Imaged by OSIRIS on Board Rosetta

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Keller, H. U., Barbieri, C., Koschny, D., Lamy, Philippe, Rickman, H., Rodrigo, R., Sierks, H., A'Hearn, Michael F., Angrilli, F., Barucci, M. A., Bertaux, Jean-Loup, Cremonese, Gabriele, da Deppo, V., Davidsson, B., de Cecco, M., Debei, S., Fornasier, S., Fulle, M., Groussin, O., Gutierrez, P. J., Hviid, S. F., Ip, W.-H., Jorda, L., Knollenberg, J., Kramm, J. R., Kührt, Ekkehard, Küppers, M., Lara, L.-M., Lazzarin, M., Lopez Moreno, J., Marzari, F., Michalik, H., Naletto, G., Sabau, L., Thomas, Nicolas, Wenzel, K.-P., Bertini, I., Besse, S., Ferri, F., Kaasalainen, M., Lowry, S., Marchi, S., Mottola, S., Sabolo, W., Schröder, S. E., Spjuth, S., Vernazza, P.
• Other Authors: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Dipartimento di Astronomia Padova, Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas = Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Department of Astronomy College Park, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris (OP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PLANETO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (OAPD), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Department of Physics and Astronomy Uppsala, Uppsala University, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati / International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA / ISAS), National Central University Taiwan (NCU), German Aerospace Center (DLR), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Institute of Computer and Network Engineering Braunschweig (IDA), Technische Universität Braunschweig = Technical University of Braunschweig Braunschweig, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Physikalisches Institut Bern, Universität Bern / University of Bern (UNIBE), Tampere University of Technology Tampere (TUT), University of Kent Canterbury
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]; [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00450751; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1179559

International audience The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission encountered the main-belt asteroid (2867) Steins while on its way to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Images taken with the OSIRIS (optical, spectroscopic, and infrared remote imaging system) cameras on board Rosetta show that Steins is an oblate body with an effective spherical diameter of 5.3 kilometers. Its surface does not show color variations. The morphology of Steins is dominated by linear faults and a large 2.1-kilometer-diameter crater near its south pole. Crater counts reveal a distinct lack of small craters. Steins is not solid rock but a rubble pile and has a conical appearance that is probably the result of reshaping due to Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) spin-up. The OSIRIS images constitute direct evidence for the YORP effect on a main-belt asteroid.