Flagstaff astronomers are studying an asteroid that’s spinning faster than any other of its size. The asteroid has broken what’s known as the “spin barrier.”
Large asteroids take at least two hours to make a full rotation. Scientists believe they would fall apart if they spun any faster.
But an international team of astronomers found Asteroid 60716 breaks the spin barrier.
Nick Moskovitz of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is part of the team.
“We know of no object this size — two kilometers or so in size — that spins this fast,” he said. “So this is the record holder in that size range.”
Big asteroids are thought to be made of loosely bound rubble. Moskovitz said tiny particles might act like glue to keep this asteroid from falling apart — like the way a sand castle keeps its shape after it dries out.
He suspects other asteroids go through short periods of fast spinning, and then slow down again. Moskovitz said they just happened to catch this one in the act.
The study appears in the March issue of Icarus.