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Published Online March 8, 2007
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1139038

Reports

Submitted on December 19, 2006
Accepted on February 21, 2007

Spin Rate of Asteroid (54509) 2000 PH5 Increasing Due to the YORP Effect

Patrick A. Taylor 1*, Jean-Luc Margot 1*, David Vokrouhlicky 2, Daniel J. Scheeres 3, Petr Pravec 4, Stephen C. Lowry 5, Alan Fitzsimmons 5, Michael C. Nolan 6, Steven J. Ostro 7, Lance A. M. Benner 7, Jon D. Giorgini 7, Christopher Magri 8

1 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6801, USA.
2 Institute of Astronomy, Charles University, V Holesovickách 2, 18000 Prague 8, Czech Republic.
3 Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 1320 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2140, USA.
4 Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Fricova 1, CZ-25165 Ondrejov, Czech Republic.
5 School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
6 Arecibo Observatory, HC3 Box 53995, Arecibo, PR 00612, USA.
7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA.
8 University of Maine at Farmington, 173 High Street - Preble Hall, Farmington, ME 04938, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Patrick A. Taylor , E-mail: ptaylor{at}astro.cornell.edu
Jean-Luc Margot , E-mail: jlm{at}astro.cornell.edu

Radar and optical observations reveal that the continuous increase in the spin rate of near-Earth asteroid (54509) 2000 PH5 can be attributed to the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect, a torque due to sunlight. The change in spin rate is in reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions for the YORP acceleration of a body with the radar-determined size, shape, and spin state of 2000 PH5. The detection of asteroid spin-up supports the YORP effect as an explanation for the anomalous distribution of spin rates for asteroids under 10 km in diameter and as a binary formation mechanism.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Direct Detection of the Asteroidal YORP Effect.
S. C. Lowry, A. Fitzsimmons, P. Pravec, D. Vokrouhlicky, H. Boehnhardt, P. A. Taylor, J.-L. Margot, A. Galad, M. Irwin, J. Irwin, et al. (2007)
Science 316, 272-274
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)