List of fast rotators (minor planets)

For minor planets with a long rotation period, see List of slow rotators (minor planets).
This plot shows the distribution of rotation periods for 15,000 minor planets as of September 2016, plotted against their diameters. Most bodies have a period between 2 and 20 hours.[1][a]

This is a list of fast rotators—"minor planets" (which includes asteroids) that have an exceptionally short rotation period, i.e. high rotation rate or spin rate. In some cases the rotation period is not constant because the object tumbles (see List of tumblers). In this list the periods are sourced from the Light Curve Data Base (LCDB),[2] and are given in both seconds and hours.

Most minor planets have rotation periods between 2 and 20 hours.[1][3] As of 2019, a group of 887 bodies – most of them are stony near-Earth asteroids with small diameters of barely 1 kilometre – have an estimated period of less than 2.2 hours. According to the Minor Planet Center, most small bodies are thought to be rubble piles – conglomerations of smaller pieces, loosely coalesced under the influence of gravity. Bodies with a period below 2.2 hours – known as the "cohesionless spin-barrier" – cannot be merely held together by self-gravity, but must be formed of a contiguous solid, as they would fly apart otherwise.[3] Via the deduction of strength boundary limits, rotation periods give an insight into the body's internal composition, and, from its degree of fracture, its collisional history can be inferred.[4]

Bodies with an uncertain period are displayed in dark-grey. They have an Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) quality code, U, of less than 2, which corresponds to an estimated error margin of larger than 30%. A trailing plus sign (+) or minus sign (−) indicate slightly better or worse quality, respectively, than the unsigned value.[5] This list also includes a small group of bodies which have no provisional designation in the LCDB.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference lcdb-query was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Warner-Harris-Pravec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ALCDEF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ryan-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference lcdb-readme2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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