PHOENIX — A newly discovered asteroid spins about as fast as a Ferris wheel. With a rotation period of just 112 seconds, it’s the new record holder for fastest-spinning asteroid wider than 500 meters. Scientists think it must be made of solid rock to avoid breaking apart.
“It’s unlike anything we’ve been able to see before,” said astronomer Sarah Greenstreet during a January 7 news conference at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The previous record holders have rotation periods of about 30 minutes to an hour. “That makes our fastest-spinning asteroid much, much faster than anything we reliably knew about previously,” she says.