ASTEROID THAT LIT UP SKIES ABOVE BERLIN WAS THE FASTEST-SPINNING SPACE ROCK

Asteroid 2024 BX1, which entered Earth's atmosphere on January 21, 2024, and broke apart over Berlin, Germany, has been revealed to be the fastest spinning asteroid ever observed. 

The asteroid, which was no more than 1 meter wide, was spinning once every 2.588 seconds, equivalent to approximately 30,000 rotations per day.

This discovery was made by Maxime Devogele at the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre in Italy and his colleagues, who took images of the asteroid prior to its impact. Despite the asteroid's high velocity of approximately 50,000 kilometers per hour, its elongated shape made changes in its brightness particularly prominent in these images.

Asteroids spin for a number of reasons, such as collisions earlier in their lives. 

In general, space rocks larger than a kilometer cannot rotate more than once every 2.2 hours because they would break apart. However, smaller asteroids like 2024 BX1 can withstand much faster spins because they are more compact and possess greater internal strength.

Gauging the spin of objects like this could be useful for planetary defense, letting us know how strong a small asteroid is and how likely it might be to survive its passage through Earth's atmosphere. "If it's hard, it will react differently than if it's a piece of snow that has no internal strength," says Devogele.

The observation published on preprint server arXiv states that near-Earth objects (NEOs) on an impact course with Earth can move at high angular speed. Understanding their properties, including rotation state, is crucial for assessing impact risks and mitigation strategies. 

This discovery is significant because it challenges our understanding of asteroid spins and their potential impact on Earth. 

As we continue to discover and track near-Earth objects, understanding their physical properties, including their spin rates, will be crucial in minimising the risks they pose to human life and infrastructure.

2024-05-07T06:37:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd