Steven J. Ostro,
1*
Petr Pravec,
2
Lance A. M. Benner,
1
R. Scott Hudson,
3
Lenka
arounová,
2
Michael D. Hicks,
1
David L. Rabinowitz,
1
James V. Scotti,
4
David J. Tholen,
5
Marek Wolf,
6
Raymond F. Jurgens,
1
Michael L. Thomas,
1
Jon D. Giorgini,
1
Paul W. Chodas,
1
Donald K. Yeomans,
1
Randy Rose,
1
Robert Frye,
1
Keith
D. Rosema,
1
Ron Winkler,
1
Martin A. Slade
1
Observations of near-Earth asteroid 1998 KY26 shortly after its
discovery reveal a slightly elongated spheroid with a diameter of about
30 meters, a composition analogous to carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, and a rotation period of 10.7 minutes, which is an order of
magnitude shorter than that measured for any other solar system object.
The rotation is too rapid for 1998 KY26 to consist of multiple
components bound together just by their mutual gravitational attraction. This monolithic object probably is a fragment derived from
cratering or collisional destruction of a much larger asteroid.
1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute
of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA.
2 Astronomical
Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-25165
Ond
ejov, Czech Republic.
3 School of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University, Pullman,
WA 99164-2752, USA.
4 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory,
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
5 Institute
for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI
96822, USA.
6 Astronomical Institute, Charles University
Prague, V Hole
ovi
kách 2, CZ-18000 Prague, Czech
Republic.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
ostro{at}reason.jpl.nasa.gov