astronomy

List of slow rotators (minor planets)

List of slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets) rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of slow rotators—minor planets that have an exceptionally long rotation period. This period, typically given in hours, and sometimes called rotation rate or spin rate, is a fundamental standard physical property for minor planets.

Key takeaways

List of slow 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 slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a list of slow rotators—minor planets that have an exceptionally long rotation period. This period, typically given in hours, and sometimes called rotation rate or spin rate, is a fundamental standard physical property for minor planets. In recent years, the periods of many thousands of bodies have been obtained from photometric and, to a lesser extent, radiometric observations. The periods given in this list are sourced from the Light Curve Data Base (LCDB), which contains lightcurve data for more than 15,000 bodies. Most minor planets have rotation periods between 2 and 20 hours. As of 2019, a group of approximately 650 bodies, typically measuring 1–20 kilometers in diameter, have periods of more than 100 hours or 41⁄6 days. Among the slowest rotators, there are currently 15 bodies with a period longer than 1000 hours. According to the Minor Planet Center, the sharp lower limit of approximately 2.2 hours is due to the fact that most smaller bodies are thought to be rubble piles – conglomerations of smaller pieces, loosely coalesced under the influence of gravity – that fly apart if the period is shorter than this limit. The few minor planets rotating faster than 2.2 hours, therefore, can not be merely held together by self-gravity, but must be formed of a contiguous solid. Potentially slow rotators have only an inaccurate period, estimated based on a fragmentary lightcurve and inconclusive measurement. They are listed separately from the more precise periods, which have a LCDB quality code, U, of 2 or 3 (unambiguous result). The periods for potentially slow rotators may be completely wrong (U = 1), have no complete and conclusive result (U = n.a.), or large error margins of more than 30% (U = 2−). A trailing plus sign (+) or minus sign (–) indicate slightly better or worse quality, respectively, than the unsigned value. As with orbital periods, a rotational period can be sidereal or synodic to describe a full rotation with respect to the fixed stars (sidereal) and Sun (synodic), respectively. In most cases, the periods given in this list are synodic, not sidereal. However, in most cases the difference between these two different measures is not significant. This is the case for all main-belt asteroids, which account for 97.5% of all minor planets.

Slowest rotators This list contains the slowest-rotating minor planets with periods of at least 1000 hours, or 412⁄3 days. See § Potentially slow rotators for minor planets with an insufficiently accurate period—that is, a LCDB quality code of less than 2.

Periods between 500 and 1000 hours

Periods of 400+ hours

Periods of 300+ hours

Periods of 200+ hours

Periods of 100+ hours

Potentially slow rotators

Potentially slow rotators have their rotation period estimated based on a fragmentary light curve. They are listed separately from the more reliable results above, that have a quality code (U) of 2 or higher. The periods for potentially slow rotators may be completely wrong (U=1), have no complete and conclusive result (U=n.a.), a large error margins of more than 30% (U=2−), or anything in between.

Possible periods above 1000 hours

Possible periods between 500 and 1000 hours

Possible periods of 400+ hours

Possible periods of 300+ hours

Possible periods of 200+ hours

Possible periods of 100+ hours

See also Light curve List of exceptional asteroids List of minor planets

References

External links Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine) Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend Asteroid Lightcurve Photometry Database, Brian D. Warner JPL Small-Body Database Browser

Illustrations

Worked examples

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

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of slow 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 slow 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 slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets)

In research: List of slow 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 slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of minor planets, Lists of small Solar System bodies, Slow rotating minor planets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

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

Why does List of slow 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 slow 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 slow rotators (minor planets).