From: jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu (J. Furr)
Newsgroups: sci.space,alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: asteroids beyond Jupiter
Date: 24 Dec 92 01:56:06 GMT
Organization: Virginia Center for Lemur Fandom (subscribe to alt.fan.lemurs TODAY)

In article <Bzqq5n.8BF@polaris.async.vt.edu> jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu (J. Furr) writes:
>In article <1992Dec22.235420.19821@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
>>jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu (Joel K. Furr) writes:
>>: In article <1992Dec22.185915.27317@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
>>: >: 
>>: >: Well, stay tuned.  Object 1992QB1 is reckoned to be a good candidate for a
>>: >: distant (40-50 A.U.) minor planet and may be the first of many discovered at
>>: >: that distance.
>>: >
>>: >The statement was asteroid - not planetoid. The asteroids originate in the
>>: >asteroid belt. It is doubtful if any of them could be perturbed enough to
>>: >reach the orbit if Neptune.
>>: >
>>: >The planetoids are a different matter. It is possible that some of them
>>: >came from outside the Solar System. They could also have been formed just
>>: >about anywhere in the system, so the same limitations do not apply to
>>: >them. I would not argue that a planetoid could not have been captured
>>: >by Neptune - although the fact that Pluto has a moon makes this very
>>: >unlikely.
>>: 
>>: No, Bill, you're wrong.  There are many flat-out ASTEROIDS that orbit that
>>: far.  You're not an astronomer, don't lecture us from a vacuum of knowledge.
>>
>>I could easily be wrong. This is AFU - after all.
>>
>>Guess I will have to do some study of the recent research. Do you have some
>>cites to simplify my astronomical task?
>>
>
>Well, yes. I've been trying to get into a library to get actual books to
>cite from, but they're all closed here at Va. Tech for the holiday.  You
>claim that all true asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter.  Then, I ask
>you, what about the asteroids that show up in the papers zooming past
>Earth every so often?  Every year or so they tell us that another one came
>within a million miles.  Furthermore, although the name of the asteroid
>class escapes me while I'm unable to get at books, there is a whole class
>of asteroids that spends most of their time out around Saturn and beyond,
>in highly elliptical orbits that infrequently bring them in nearer the
>Sun.  Saturn and Jupiter now have so many moons verified as orbiting them
>that it's not big news anymore.  Each has ten or so tiny rocks that used
>to be asteroids orbiting way out.  From what I recall reading in astronomy
>books, some of these will orbit their gas giant for a few million years
>and then escape again.  Pluto's "moon", however, doesn't strike me as a
>likely asteroid capture because Pluto just wouldn't have the gravitational
>pull to snag something nearly as large as itself and keep it there.

I post this whole mess to sci.space and say "help" because it seems that
one side in a.f.u. is arguing as follows: _all_ asteroids occur between
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.  Therefore Neptune, Pluto, etc. could not
possibly have captured asteroids because asteroids don't go out that far.

Joel "a rose by any other name would probably still cost a lot around the
middle of February" Furr
jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space