Asteroid Concepts

Introduction

To understand what it is I am doing, it is necessary to understand a few concepts.

Asynchronous Binaries

An Asynchronous Binary is an Asteroid that spins on it's axis at a rate different to the orbital period of it's moon/partner as shown is figure 1.  The difference in rate may be either faster or slower.  Note that this has nothing to do with the rate at which the moon/partner spins on it's own axis.

Figure 1: Asynchronous Binary

Synchronous Binaries

An Synchronous Binary is an Asteroid that spins on it's axis at the same rate as the orbital period of it's moon/partner as shown is figure 2.  Note that this has nothing to do with the rate at which the moon/partner spins on it's own axis.

Figure 2:  Synchronous Binary

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