Sunlight affects asteroid spin
Posted: Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
Astronomers have found that the weak but constant force of sunlight is causing the spin of a small asteroid to accelerate. In a paper published online by Science last week, a group of astronomers said than the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect is causing the spin of asteroid 2000 PH5 to speed up at the rate of about one millisecond per year. The YORP effect is created when an asteroid or other body absorbs sunlight and reradiates it as heat. While normally a feeble force, the YORP effect can cause measurable changes in small, irregularly-shaped bodies like this asteroid. Researchers ruled out all other known potential causes for the change in the asteroid's spin, including tidal forces created when the asteroid passes the vicinity of the Earth. The YORP effect may explain why very small asteroids spin either very quickly or very slowly.
Astronomers have found that the weak but constant force of sunlight is causing the spin of a small asteroid to accelerate. In a paper published online by Science last week, a group of astronomers said than the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect is causing the spin of asteroid 2000 PH5 to speed up at the rate of about one millisecond per year. The YORP effect is created when an asteroid or other body absorbs sunlight and reradiates it as heat. While normally a feeble force, the YORP effect can cause measurable changes in small, irregularly-shaped bodies like this asteroid. Researchers ruled out all other known potential causes for the change in the asteroid's spin, including tidal forces created when the asteroid passes the vicinity of the Earth. The YORP effect may explain why very small asteroids spin either very quickly or very slowly.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, March 27
A leap forward for Lumio: Phase C officially launched
ESA — 6:09 am ET (1009 GMT) Cantor Fitzgerald cuts Firefly Aerospace stock price target on estimates
Investing.com — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) SpaceX President: Starlink Could Plateau at 15,000 or 20,000 Satellites
PC Magazine — 6:07 am ET (1007 GMT) Data Centers on Orbit Could Boost Space Operations, Experts Say
National Defense Magazine — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) National Defense Strategy ‘falls short’ on nuclear, space threat: SASC chair
Defense One — 6:05 am ET (1005 GMT) |
