Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
The European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope has identified potential moons orbiting more than 350 asteroids, previously thought to be single bodies. This discovery suggests many asteroids in the solar system might have undiscovered companions.
Credit : ESA
If confirmed, these findings will nearly double the known number of binary asteroid systems, adding significant data to our understanding of asteroid composition and behavior within the solar system.
Binary asteroids are difficult to detect due to their small size and distance from Earth. Despite predictions that one-sixth of asteroids may have companions, only about 500 binary systems had been identified before Gaia’s recent observations.
Asteroids are remnants from the early solar system, preserving material from the time when the planets formed. Studying them provides insights into the conditions and processes that shaped the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago.
Binary asteroids can offer valuable information about the early solar system, particularly regarding the frequent collisions that occurred during its formative years. Understanding these interactions can shed light on how planetary bodies evolved.
Gaia’s recent data release, which included highly precise asteroid orbit measurements, allowed researchers to detect small “wobbles” in asteroid paths, indicating the presence of moons exerting gravitational influence.
Credit : ESA
Gaia’s upcoming fourth data release in 2026 is anticipated to provide even more detailed information on asteroid orbits, potentially uncovering additional asteroid-moon systems and further expanding our knowledge of the solar system.
Beyond Gaia, the European Space Agency will also launch the Hera mission in October to study the asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorphos. This mission will investigate the impact of NASA’s DART mission, which aimed to test planetary defence strategies by altering an asteroid’s trajectory.