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Eunomia (Bloomington Solar System) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

ErWenn: I only really hid these tiny little asteroids to help someone with a streak, and this one doesn't like to stick around, so I think it's time to archive it. I'll be keeping the big 3 original asteroids, but I'll be archiving the tiny ones when they disappear.

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Hidden : 4/16/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

You're looking for a homemade magnetic nanocache container, about 1" in diameter and about 0.5" tall. In addition to the logbook, the cache contains a tiny little model of the asteroid Eunomia. The ground nearby is grass, so it may be wheelchair accessible, depending on the wheelchair.

This cache is part of a 1:133,700,000 scale model of the solar system. The dome on the Monroe County Courthouse in downtown Bloomington, Indiana serves as the model of the Sun.

I know I said I was done hiding asteroids because the only ones left were so ridiculously small, but I decided to hide a few ridiculously small asteroids just for the heck of it. How small? Well the dimensions of Eunomia are about 340×250×210 km, give or take 10-20 km, which corresponds to approximately 3x2x2 mm at this scale. If you could place it on the surface of the Earth, it would be almost big enough to cover the state of Indiana (you'd miss everything south of French Lick).

Eunomia is somewhat elongated and fairly regular in shape, although it's got several different surface patches of differing curvature and composition. Its orbit takes it from roughly 321 to 469 million kilometers from the sun, so I've placed it about 1.94 miles from the Courthouse.

Most scientists agree that Eunomia was once considerably larger (about 1.4 times its current size), but that there was a large collision that shattered it into many little pieces. One theory is that the Eunomia we see today is the central remnant (the core and some of the mantle) of the larger parent body. This would explain why it's so dense for an asteroid of its type. Another theory is that Eunomia is actually the result of most of those pieces being pulled back together by gravity, making it essentially a giant pile of rubble. The best computer simulations seem to back up this explanation, although they can't explain the high density. Only time and more science will tell what the full story is.

Eunomia is named after the ancient Greek goddess of law and legislation.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

V'ir sbhaq n jnl gb znxr zntargf fgvpx gb jbbq!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)