Identification of a primordial asteroid family constrains the original planetesimal population

Abstract

Family ties reveal original planetesimals The asteroid belt originated from leftover debris from the formation of our solar system, including objects that never grew big enough to become planets. Destructive collisions led to the present proliferation of asteroids; groups that were initially part of the same body have related orbits and are known as families. Delbo' et al. identified an ancient family mostly consisting of dark asteroids that previously had not been linked to families (see the Perspective by DeMeo). From this, they calculated the original population of the belt, showing that it contained several dozen midsized bodies known as planetesimals. Science , this issue p. 1026 ; see also p. 972