Suppose that a lone asteroid happens to be passing Jupiter on an unbound orbit (well above Jupiter's atmosphere and far from all of Jupiter's moons.)Which of the following statements would be true?
A)Jupiter's gravity would capture the asteroid, making it a new moon of Jupiter.
B)Jupiter's gravity would suck in the asteroid, causing it to crash into Jupiter.
C)The asteroid's orbit around Jupiter would not change, and it would go out on the same unbound orbit that it came in on.
D)There is no way to predict what would happen.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The asteroid, being on an unbound orbit, means it has enough velocity to escape Jupiter's gravitational pull after passing by. Thus, it would continue on its original trajectory, unaffected in the long term by Jupiter's gravity.

Suppose That a Lone Asteroid Happens to Be Passing Jupiter