{"id":360783,"date":"2026-03-23T11:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/360783\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:13:08","slug":"space-breakthrough-scientists-spot-fastest-rotating-asteroid-ever-recorded-thought-to-be-impossible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/360783\/","title":{"rendered":"Space breakthrough: Scientists spot fastest-rotating asteroid ever recorded: ‘Thought to be impossible!’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astronomers have identified the fastest-spinning large asteroid ever recorded: a space rock measuring more than 700 metres across that completes a full rotation in less than 2 minutes.<\/p>\n

The object, designated 2025 MN45, was spotted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile during its initial observation period in late April and early May 2025.<\/p>\n

At more than 500 metres wide, this asteroid rotates at a velocity previously considered physically impossible for an object of its size.<\/p>\n

The discovery emerged from data collected across nine nights of observations, marking one of the first major scientific findings from the newly operational telescope facility.<\/p>\n

According to established theories of asteroid dynamics, objects larger than roughly 150 metres should not be able to spin faster than once every 2.2 hours without tearing themselves apart.<\/p>\n

At higher rotational velocities, centrifugal forces would overcome the asteroid’s own gravitational pull, causing it to fragment or eject material into space.<\/p>\n

Yet 2025 MN45 shatters this theoretical limit entirely, completing rotations approximately 70 times faster than the supposed maximum.<\/p>\n

The finding has forced researchers to reconsider fundamental assumptions about how large asteroids behave and what structural properties allow them to withstand such extreme forces.<\/p>\n

\"Rock\"\/<\/p>\n

Objects larger than roughly 150 metres should not be able to spin faster than once every 2.2 hours without tearing themselves apart<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

SLAC<\/p>\n

Dmitrii Vavilov, an astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle, presented these findings at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas on March 17.<\/p>\n

“The speed of rotation we observed was almost unbelievable,” Mr Vavilov said during his presentation.<\/p>\n

He emphasised how dramatically the discovery contradicts established scientific understanding, stating: “We thought that was crazy that they could rotate any faster.”<\/p>\n

Mr Vavilov further highlighted the stark contrast between theory and observation, saying: “2.2 hours is supposed to be the limit for this asteroid, and yet it’s rotating in less than 2 minutes.”<\/p>\n

\"Space\"\/<\/p>\n

The object, designated 2025 MN45, was spotted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile during its initial observation period<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS<\/p>\n

The research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.<\/p>\n

The research team concluded 2025 MN45 cannot be composed of loose rubble or loosely packed material, as many scientists had previously assumed for asteroids of this size.<\/p>\n

Instead, the object must possess genuine internal strength to survive such extreme rotational forces.<\/p>\n

“Even clay would not be enough to hold this asteroid together,” Mr Vavilov remarked, suggesting the space rock is likely made of solid rock or possibly metal.<\/p>\n

This insight challenges longstanding models that depicted most asteroids as weakly bound collections of debris, opening new possibilities for understanding what these ancient objects are actually made of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Astronomers have identified the fastest-spinning large asteroid ever recorded: a space rock measuring more than 700 metres across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,43,82,40822,247],"class_list":["post-360783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-science","tag-sgg","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}