05-16-2019, 03:38 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-16-2019, 03:39 PM by The Astronomer.)
(05-16-2019, 12:49 PM)dsmike1980 Wrote:(05-15-2019, 01:09 PM)The Astronomer Wrote: 1) It's not spherical. You're just looking from the wrong side.
Here's Archimedes from the 'pole'.
2) There are plenty of small asteroids that are round. Both Ryugu and Bennu's shapes are not that far off from a sphere.
Ryugu and Bennu are so shaped because of rapid rotation. Small moons in close orbits around a much larger primary are usually tidally locked.
2) Bennu rotates much faster than Ryugu, and they both have roughly the same shape.
3) Also, what prevents a generic asteroid moon from assuming a roughly spherical shape?
4) The current shape does not reflect the original shape of this asteroid. It could've been sculpted by the colonists. Personally, I think its role is as a 'decoration' that bonuses as a counterweight and living space.
If you're bothered by the shape of an asteroid in a Celestia addon, you can consider asking Steve to create another shipyard model with less spherical asteroid. As for me, I think I'll just leave it like that.