UNIQUE DYNAMICS OF ASTEROIDS

Millions of asteroids are in various shapes, which show unique dynamical phenomena, including their own revolutions and the vicinal surrounding objects. This paper reviews the recent development of studies of asteroids. Significant effects on the long-term evolution of asteroids' attitude and orbit are introduced, i.e., the Yarkovsky effect and the YORP effect. Modeling methods of their irregular gravitational fields are presented as well as naturally periodic orbits in complex universal curves. Some basic problems and potential research directions are suggested.