Vera Rubin Observatory spots the largest ultra-fast spinning asteroid yet
Astronomers using the Vera Rubin Observatory have identified the largest known ultra-fast-spinning asteroid, which completes a rotation in just over four minutes. The discovery was made possible by new software designed to filter out unreliable telescope measurements.
Why it matters
Understanding the spin rates of asteroids provides critical data on their composition and structural integrity, which is vital for planetary defense and space science.
edited by Lisa Lock , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add to Preferred Sources Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The speed of an asteroid's spin can tell astronomers a surprising amount about what it is made of. However, existing approaches to measuring spin based on telescope observations can often produce misleading estimates.
Now, a team led by Dmitrii Vavilov at the University of Washington has developed new software that automatically weeds out unreliable measurements. Their updated approach revealed an asteroid more than 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) across that completes a full rotation in just over four minutes—making it the largest known ultra-fast-spinning asteroid. Their research has been posted to the arXiv preprint server.
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