1998 KY26

The asteroid mp|1998 KY|26 (also written 1998 KY26) was discovered on June 2, 1998 by Spacewatch and observed until June 8 while it passed 800,000 kilometers (half a million miles) away from Earth (a little more than twice the Earth-Moon distance). mp|1998 KY|26 has a shape similar to a sphere and is about only 30 m (100 ft) in diameter. The object could also be classified as a meteoroid, although the most common definition uses a diameter of 10 m as the demarcation. Its most fascinating characteristic is that it is fast-spinning and water-rich. This discovery is attributed to an international team of astronomers led by Dr. Steven J. Ostro of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The team used a radar telescope in California and optical telescopes in the Czech Republic, Hawaii, Arizona and California.

Asteroid mp|1998 KY|26 is the smallest solar system object ever studied in detail and was the fastest spinning object observed at the time of its discovery. Its rotational period is 10.7 minutes. Most asteroids with established rotational rates have periods measured in hours. It was the first recognized minor object which spins fast enough that it must be a monolithic object rather than a rubble pile as most asteroids are thought to be. Since mp|1998 KY|26 was found to be a fast rotator, several other small asteroids have been found to also have short rotation periods, some even faster than mp|1998 KY|26.

External links

* [http://www.tricity.wsu.edu/~hudson/Research/Asteroids/index.htm Scott Hudson's Homepage: The Earth-Crossing Asteroid mp|1998 KY|26]
* [http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/~ostro/KY26/ Steven Ostro's Homepage: mp|1998 KY|26]

References

* Media Relations Office. [http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/~ostro/KY26/JPL_press_release.text Sun never sets, for long, on fast-spinning, water-rich asteroid] (press release). Pasadena, California: "Jet Propulsion Laboratory". July 22, 1999.