Thermally induced lineations on the asteroid Eros: Evidence of orbit transfer

Several systems of tectonic lineations have been observed on the surface of the asteroid 433 Eros. We suggest that many of these lineations may have resulted from thermal stresses associated with a secular change in surface temperature due to orbit migration. We demonstrate how thermal diffusion can lead to tectonic features and how such features should be oriented with respect to Eros' complex geometry. Comparison to observed lineations suggests that some may be explained by thermal stresses. Such stresses represent a largely unexplored tectonic process on asteroids and could be used to gain rare insight into chaotic orbital dynamics. If correct, our results imply a gross orbital history over the last ∼100 Myr involving slow (>several Myr), inward migration followed by more rapid, outward migration to its present orbit.