Rubin Observatory spots asteroids spinning faster than ever
Scientists at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile recently identified 19 asteroids with exceptionally fast rotation periods—classified as super- and ultra-fast rotators—thanks to observations made over nine nights in April and May 2025.
By tracking how these space rocks' brightness changed, they determined how quickly they spin and estimated their sizes.
Meet the speedsters: including 1 massive fast-spinner
Most of these speedy asteroids are hanging out between Mars and Jupiter, each longer than a football field (about 90 meters).
Sixteen of them spin in as little as 13 minutes to just over two hours—but three take less than five minutes for a full rotation!
The real standout is asteroid 2025 MN45: it's about 710 meters wide (think seven football fields) and spins once every 1.88 minutes, making it the biggest fast-spinning asteroid ever found.
Why does this matter?
Finding such large, fast-spinning asteroids challenges what scientists thought about how strong these rocks need to be—turns out, some aren't just loose piles of rubble but are held together like solid rock.
This could change what we know about how asteroids form and survive collisions.
With the Rubin Observatory's decade-long sky survey just getting started, we might spot even more cosmic speed demons soon!