astronomy

List of fast rotators (minor planets)

List of fast rotators (minor planets) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of fast rotators (minor planets) rather than just read about it. In short: 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).

Key takeaways

List of fast rotators (minor planets) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of fast rotators (minor planets) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of fast rotators (minor planets) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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), and are given in both seconds and hours. Most minor planets have rotation periods between 2 and 20 hours. As of 2019, a group of 887 bodies – most of them were stony near-Earth asteroids with small diameters of barely 1 kilometre – had an estimated period of less than 2.2 hours. According to the Minor Planet Center, most small bodies were 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" – couldn't be merely held together by self-gravity, but must be formed of a contiguous solid, as they would fly apart otherwise. 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. 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. This list also includes a small group of bodies which have no provisional designation in the LCDB.

Periods <0.02 hour

Periods 0.02–0.05 hour

Periods 0.05–0.1 hour

Periods 0.1–0.5 hour

Periods 0.5–1 hour

Periods 1–2 hours

Periods 2–2.2 hours

References

External links Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine) Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR, Geneva Observatory, Raoul Behrend Asteroid Lightcurve Photometry Database, Brian D. Warner JPL Small-Body Database Browser, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Record spin for newfound asteroid, BBC News, May 2008 Fast Rotating Asteroids 1999 TY2, 1999 SF10, and 1998 WB2, published by Ondrejov Asteroid Photometry Project https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of fast rotators (minor planets)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of fast rotators (minor planets) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of fast rotators (minor planets) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of fast rotators (minor planets) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of fast rotators (minor planets)

In research: List of fast rotators (minor planets) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of fast rotators (minor planets) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of fast rotators (minor planets) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fast rotating minor planets, Lists of minor planets, Lists of small Solar System bodies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of fast rotators (minor planets) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of fast rotators (minor planets) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of fast rotators (minor planets) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of fast rotators (minor planets) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of fast rotators (minor planets) in simple terms?

Why does List of fast rotators (minor planets) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of fast rotators (minor planets)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of fast rotators (minor planets).