Why this discovery is unusual<\/p>\n
Most asteroids that are larger than 150 meters (492 feet) in diameter do not rotate faster than 2.2 hours\u2014this is called a spin barrier. Any asteroid spinning faster than 2.2 hours could get broken apart due to the force generated by their rotation (centrifugal force) that can overcome gravity if their material are not bound together firmly. Besides, asteroids are generally thought to be loose rubble piles but the fact that 491384 is intact suggests it has significant internal cohesion.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/copy_1791701636572_24ca7e4e.jpg\")
Artist’s illustration of an rocky asteroid photographed upclose in space. (Image Source: ESA)<\/p>\n
For this research, scientists analyzed data from the Rubin observatory\u2019s catalog containing over 9,400 asteroids. Out of the sample, they shortlisted 1,221 candidate asteroids using a computer model that helped confirm how trustworthy each asteroid\u2019s calculated rotational speed was. Applying further filters revealed 66 of them as ‘super-fast rotators’ with spin faster than the classical 2.2-hour spin barrier. Interestingly, five asteroids were classified as ‘ultra-fast rotators’ that were spinning once in less than five minutes\u2014asteroid 491384 being one of them.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791701721177_9a17ef157957.jpg\")
The LSST camera at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California during its construction. (Image Source: RubinObs\/NOIRLab\/SLAC\/NSF\/DOE\/AURA\/T. Lange)<\/p>\n
Another asteroid that caught the authors\u2019 eye was 566130 with a rotational period of just 5.34 minutes. This rock has a diameter of 1.24 miles (2 km) and it also survived the rotational force that should have caused it to disintegrate. \u201cNeither body could survive such rapid spin without substantial internal cohesion,\u201d the researchers wrote in the paper<\/a>. \u201cGiven how exceptional both of those objects are, we recommend dedicated follow-up observations to confirm their periods independently,\u201d they wrote further.\u00a0 <\/p>\n In June this year, the LSST camera official began its observations with an objective to conduct a 10-year survey of the southern sky. While in its commissioning phase, it discovered over 11,000 new asteroids<\/a> while measuring precise orbits for tens of thousands more. Moreover, the National Science Foundation (NSF) which jointly runs the observatory with Department of Energy captured more than 500,000 galaxies<\/a> of different kinds and 50,000 stars, covering around one-sixth of the entire Southern Hemisphere sky.\u00a0Over the next decade, the observatory will image billions of galaxies and other cosmic objects, and its data will be complemented with those from other telescopes to reveal not only what distant galaxies look like but also how the sky evolves over time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n More on Starlust<\/p>\n