TAG | Sunlight speeds asteroid spin |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Thursday, 08 March 2007 | |
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But the forces involved are tiny, and therefore have a very small impact. Two teams of scientists working independently have published their results observations this week, both reporting changes measured in just milliseconds per year. A UK-based team observed the 114m diameter asteroid 2000 PH5 using optical and radar measurements, and found its 'day' is shortening by one millisecond per year. If this continues over tens of millions of years, 2000 PH5 is likely to break into two or more pieces. Meanwhile, a Finland-based team re-analysed existing observations of a larger asteroid, the 1.4km diameter 1862 Apollo, and found a change of four milliseconds per year. The significance of these findings lies in their contribution to our overall understanding of the evolution of the solar system. It seems unlikely that the effect could be exploited to shatter an asteroid on a collision course with Earth within a reasonable timescale.{moscomment}
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