Puzzle 12

John Baez

Q: What is the size of New Jersey, shaped like a dog bone, and named after a famous woman?

A: 216 Kleopatra. This asteroid is dumbbell-shaped, about 217 kilometers long, but only 94 x 81 kilometers around the middle, and is apparently the outcome of an exotic sequence of collisional events.

Source: Steven J. Ostro et al, Radar Obsevations of Asteroid 216 Kleopatra, Science, May 5 2000, vol. 288, 836-839. (Also see the nice pictures on the cover of the issue!)


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