This Newly Discovered Asteroid, About Half a Mile Wide, Just Set a New Speed Record
A giant asteroid has sent astronomers into a spin, setting a record for how fast it spins on its axis.
NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NoIRLab/SLAC/Aura/P. marenfeld
This space rock, 710 meters (just under half a mile) wide, sets a record for how fast it spins on its axis: almost one rotation in less than two minutes. This makes it the fastest rotating asteroid of more than 500 meters in diameter ever found.
And it is not alone. The asteroid, discovered using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, is one of 19 large rapidly rotating asteroids found by the telescope.
The discovery, made by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) and their colleagues at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and other institutions, was presented Wednesday at the annual American Astronomical Society meeting. it was also published In Astrophysical Journal Letters,
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Studying the size, spin and composition of these asteroids can reveal how they were formed – and provide clues to the early Solar System.
“Clearly, this asteroid must be made of material that has a lot of strength to keep it in one piece because it rotates so fast,” said Sarah Greenstreet, assistant astronomer at NOIRLab. statementThe findings suggest it may be similar to solid rock, which he said was surprising because most asteroids are thought to be a clumpy mass of rock, dust, ice and other debris,
The Rubin telescope is set to begin a 10-year survey of the night sky later this year. It will take snapshots every three days and generate 20 terabytes of data every night – more than 350 times that produced by the James Webb Space Telescope.
“Discoveries like this exceptionally fast-spinning asteroid are a direct result of the observatory’s unique ability to provide high-resolution, time-domain astronomical data that push the boundaries of what has previously been observed,” said Regina Ramica, DOE’s associate director for high energy physics. statement,
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