Flora family facts for kids
The Flora family is a large group of S-type asteroids found in the inner part of the asteroid belt. Scientists are still learning about how this family formed and what makes it special. About 4% to 5% of all asteroids in the main belt belong to the Flora family.
Sometimes, this group is also called the Ariadne family. This happens because the edges of the Flora family are not always clear. Also, the asteroid 8 Flora itself is sometimes found outside the main group during certain studies.
What Makes the Flora Family Special?
The biggest asteroid in this family is 8 Flora. It is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) wide. Flora makes up about 80% of the total mass of the entire family. However, scientists believe that the original "parent" asteroid that created the family was likely destroyed by a huge impact. Flora itself is probably a collection of many pieces that came together after that big crash.
Asteroids That Don't Belong
The part of space where the Flora family lives is very crowded with asteroids. So, you might expect to find many asteroids there that are not actually part of the Flora family. But it's hard to tell them apart! This is because the Flora family asteroids are mostly S-type, which is the most common type of asteroid in the inner main belt.
However, scientists have found a few asteroids that don't belong to the Flora family, even though they are in the same area. These "unrelated" asteroids are usually small. Some examples include 298 Baptistina, 422 Berolina, 2093 Genichesk, and 2259 Sofievka. The biggest of these is Sofievka, which is about 21 kilometers (13 miles) wide. Other examples are 2952 Liliputia, 3533 Toyota, 3850 Peltier, 3875 Staehle, 4278 Harvey, 4396 Gressmann, and 4750 Mukai.
Images for kids
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Location and structure of the Flora family within the asteroid belt
See also
In Spanish: Familia de Flora (astronomía) para niños
