Contact binary (small Solar System body)
Small Solar System body that is composed of two bodies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A contact binary is a small Solar System body, such as a minor planet or comet, that is composed of two bodies that have gravitated toward each other until they touch, resulting in a bilobated, peanut-like overall shape. Contact binaries are distinct from true binary systems such as binary asteroids where both components are separated. The term is also used for stellar contact binaries.
An example of a contact binary is the Kuiper belt object 486958 Arrokoth, which was imaged by the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby in January 2019.[1]