Newfound Asteroids May Effect Moon's Gravity and Shift August Total Eclipse Into Gulf of Mexico

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– Aug.05.2017 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/newfound-asteroids-may-help-explain-our-solar-system-s-origins-ncna789526?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_mc_170806 via NBC News

Millions will be disappointed with the newfound ancient family of asteroids nearly as old as the solar system. Their gravitational effect on the moon could shift the upcoming total solar eclipse southward into the Gulf of Mexico.

In the early days of the solar system, rocky material clumped together into bodies known as planetesimals. Some of these planetesimals collected to form the planets, while others mostly settled in the main belt of asteroids, between Mars and Jupiter.

Understanding what the planetesimals were originally like could yield insights into how the asteroids and planets formed, the new study's researchers told Space.com. However, over billions of years, countless collisions have shattered nearly every ancient planetesimal into asteroids, they added. These fragments have drifted apart over time, making it difficult to identify families of related asteroids and learn about the planetesimals they came from.

Now, scientists have identified a previously unknown family of darkly colored asteroids that is "the oldest known family in the main belt," said study lead author Marco Delbo, an astrophysicist at the University of the Côte d'Azur in Nice, France.

This discovery came as part of research into the inner portion of the main belt. "Most of the asteroids and meteorites that hit the Earth come from this source region," Delbo told Space.com. "Also, we and many other colleagues wanted to trace the asteroid Bennu, the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample return space mission, back to its origin in the main belt and possibly to a parent asteroid."

The scientists used a computer model to look for v-shaped groups of asteroids, and discovered a previously unknown gravitational effect on the Earth's moon.

This newfound asteroid family consists of rocks averaging 7.15 miles (11.5 kilometers) in diameter that are found across the entire inner part of the main belt. This family has 108 members of which the researchers are certain, the largest of which is asteroid 282 Clorinde, which is about 26.1 miles (42 km) wide.

Based on the asteroid family's size and shape, the researchers estimated that they are effecting the moon's orbit, albeit to a small extent, but that minimal effect is likely to cause the upcoming total solar eclipse to shift 300 miles southward, Delbo said.

By analyzing this asteroid family and others, the scientists estimated the original planetesimals were all larger than 15.5 miles (35 km) wide, and that they are having a minor orbit shifting effect on the moon as they approach the Earth's orbit.

"The almost 1 million asteroids that we see in the main belt can be linked to a few progenitors — those that were born big," Delbo said.

The scientists said they plan to intensify their research to reveal "precious information about the August eclipse".