Full two-body simulations of Arrokoth's lobes demonstrate that shape irregularities produce gravitational torques orders of magnitude stronger than gas drag, causing rapid desynchronization and misalignment that none of the proposed pre-merger scenarios can prevent.
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3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
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astro-ph.EP 3years
2026 3verdicts
UNVERDICTED 3representative citing papers
Reports asymmetric heliocentric activity slopes for 103P/Hartley 2 and exponential outburst decay plus flattening phase curves for Chiron from ATLAS, ZTF, and LCO photometry.
Updated shape model of Arrokoth finds significantly larger volume, 2:1 lobe ratio, spherical small lobe and oblate large lobe compared to prior work.
citing papers explorer
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Challenge in Arrokoth's single merger to achieve the shape's principal axis configuration
Full two-body simulations of Arrokoth's lobes demonstrate that shape irregularities produce gravitational torques orders of magnitude stronger than gas drag, causing rapid desynchronization and misalignment that none of the proposed pre-merger scenarios can prevent.
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Multi-year Ground-Based Survey Photometry of Active Comet 103P/Hartley 2 and Centaur (2060) Chiron: A Tale of Two Comets in the Pre-LSST Era
Reports asymmetric heliocentric activity slopes for 103P/Hartley 2 and exponential outburst decay plus flattening phase curves for Chiron from ATLAS, ZTF, and LCO photometry.
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The Shape of (486958) Arrokoth
Updated shape model of Arrokoth finds significantly larger volume, 2:1 lobe ratio, spherical small lobe and oblate large lobe compared to prior work.