Timeline for How big would a collection of asteroids near the Moon's L4 point need to be to aggregate naturally into a "stepping stone" for space exploration?

Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0

13 events

when toggle format	what		by	license	comment
May 9, 2020 at 9:55	vote	accept	Cornelis
Dec 9, 2019 at 23:00	answer	added	SE - stop firing the good guys		timeline score: 5
Dec 9, 2019 at 18:09	history	edited	Cornelis	CC BY-SA 4.0	changed the question somewhat
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:52	history	edited	Cornelis	CC BY-SA 4.0	changed the question somewhat
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:42	history	edited	Cornelis	CC BY-SA 4.0	replaced a word
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:37	comment	added	uhoh		@Cornelisinspace oh I see, this is about "manual" collection and careful placement, not natural aggregation. Got it! You just need enough mass to overcome tidal and other multi-body forces and solar pressure for example.
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:36	comment	added	Organic Marble		Excellent point, if edited into question.
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:35	comment	added	Cornelis		@OrganicMarble A new, lighter moon at a stable point near Earth could be an important "stepping stone" for space exploration !
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:30	comment	added	Organic Marble		Relevance to space exploration?
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:29	comment	added	Cornelis		@uhoh When you place them really close to each other they don't have to collide. I I could imagine that the Sun's gravity could tear the asteroids apart a bit.
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:26	comment	added	uhoh		They can only really aggregate if they can lose kinetic energy somehow by friction and heating during many many collisions. Gravity alone will alter their orbits, but as they start to affect each other they'll speed up relative to their center, rather than slow down. They'll need to "cool" somehow before they can slow down and aggregate.
Dec 9, 2019 at 17:05	history	edited	Cornelis	CC BY-SA 4.0	small change to the question
Dec 9, 2019 at 15:56	history	asked	Cornelis	CC BY-SA 4.0