Asteroid 1986 DA: Radar Evidence for a Metallic Composition.
Echoes from the near-Earth object 1986 DA show it to be significantly more reflective than other radar-detected asteroids. This result supports the hypothesis that 1986 DA is a piece of NiFe metal derived from the interior of a much larger object that melted, differentiated, cooled, and subsequently was disrupted in a catastrophic collision. This 2-kilometer asteroid, which appears smooth at centimeter to meter scales but extremely irregular at 10- to 100-meter scales, might be (or have been a part of the parent body of some iron meteorites.
Ostro
S J
SJ
Campbell
D B
DB
Chandler
J F
JF
Hine
A A
AA
Hudson
R S
RS
Rosema
K D
KD
Shapiro
I I
II