Asteroids Near Jupiter are Really Comets

Two objects lurking near Jupiter and once considered rocky

Using the Keck

Most likely, the researchers say, Patroclus and Menoetius

The finding could mean that many or most of asteroid-like

The findings were detailed in the Feb. 2 issue of the

Patroclus and Menoetius are the only known binary objects

Patroclus and Menoetius are estimated to be about 76 miles

Because most comets are thought to form in the Kuiper Belt,

"It's our suspicion that the Trojans are small Kuiper Belt

According to one hypothesis proposed by the researchers,

During this early period in the solar system, the gas

The majority of them would have been hurled into the outer