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A population of sun-loving asteroids, known as the Vulcanoids, may exist within the orbit of the planet Mercury, reports astronomer Duncan Steele today in the Guardian. Calculations performed three years ago by Wyn Evans, of the University of Oxford, and Serge Tabachnik, of Princeton University, have shown that asteroids within the region inside Mercury's orbit would have relatively stable orbits and suggest there could be hundreds, or even thousands, of vulcanoid asteroids. Asteroids are the rocky and metallic leftovers from the formation of our solar system and are only found in large numbers in regions where they have been relatively undisturbed such as the asteroid belt. Whether large numbers of vulcanoids exist depends on their orbits, explains Steele. Only if they have nearly circular orbits are they likely to have survived the 4.5 billion year history of our Solar System without being destroyed in collisions with each other. No vulcanoids have yet been discovered, however, identifying asteroids close to the Sun using conventional telescopes is a difficult task. A search for vulcanoids is, however, being made by scientists at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, U.S.A using a camera mounted in the cockpit of a NASA F18 Hornet. Researchers hope that the improved view of the horizon at 15 km altitude will allow them to find asteroids close to the Sun.
More info: Guardian Article
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