90 Antiope – The Double Asteroid

ESO visualization of 90 Antiope

One of the most interesting asteroid in the solar system, Antiope is a double asteroid of almost equal size. It orbits each other in a distance of only 60 m or so. The center of mass lies in the space between them.

Another interesting visualization of Antiope is a visualization of a Mining Settlement on the asteroid, made by Walter Myers (http://www.arcadiastreet.com/cgvistas/index.html), which is the winning entry for the NSS Space Settlement Art Contest and appeared in the 2008 Calendar.

 

Walter Myers visualization for Mining Settlement on 90 Antiope. The other body of Antiope is only separated as far as 60 km, it is probably possible to jump from asteroid to asteroid, with the hope that you won’t get caught in the center gravity of the asteroid…