Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Vera C. Rubin Observatory has discovered the fastest-ever spinning asteroid with a diameter over half a kilometer


Astronomers analyzing data from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, have discovered the fastest-ever spinning asteroid with a diameter over half a kilometer — a feat uniquely enabled by Rubin. The study provides crucial information about asteroid composition and evolution, and demonstrates how Rubin is pushing the boundaries of what we can discover within our own Solar System.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on r/Space

Read more on:

Photo of Kilometer

Kilometer

Photo of asteroid

asteroid

Photo of diameter

diameter

Related news:

News photo

An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032, scattering debris toward Earth

News photo

NASA discovers 'space gum' and sugars 'crucial to life' in asteroid Bennu samples brought to Earth (video)

News photo

Asteroid loaded with amino acids offers new clues about the origin of life on Earth