It is safe to assume that both large and small satellites of the planets revolve around them in the same direction. If they had not done so, they would have simply thrown out of orbit due to gravitational interaction with the planet. But now it is clear that to this rule there are exceptions: the researchers found that the asteroid circling around Jupiter in the opposite direction from all the satellites and small solar system celestial. Asteroids with this type of orbit is very rarely found anywhere in our system (about 0.01 percent of known asteroids). But this is the first case discovered when one of these small celestial bodies revolving around the planet.
How does this happen?
Mainly due to the successful combination of circumstances. The orbit of the asteroid passes on alternating sides of Jupiter. One pass draws him to the world and the next trying to push the asteroid in space. This results in a very stable rotation trajectory. According to the researchers estimated this is already about a million years.
The find is not something radically new. Given the scale of the universe (and just the solar system), something like this was going to happen - if not near Jupiter, it around any other planet. But, nevertheless, it will learn new things about the asteroid's orbit and serve as a reminder that the phenomena in space do not always meet expectations.
Source: Nature.com
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