Astronomers have discovered something strange about asteroid Phaethon
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency wants to launch its DESTINY+ mission to the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon in 2024, with the goal of flying by the space rock in 2028, so this “potentially dangerous” asteroid has been studied in depth.
Researchers recently made a particularly remarkable discovery about Phaethon: its spin is accelerating. The the asteroidIts rotation period is decreasing by 4 milliseconds per year. Even such a small change can affect DESTINY+ observations. Knowing the specific spin rate allowed the team to more accurately predict the asteroid’s orientation during the spacecraft’s flyby—in turn, it allowed the team to be more precise with their observations.
Asteroid spin changes are rare; Phaethon is the 11th known asteroid to show a period change and is the largest of the space rocks, with an average diameter of 3.4 miles (5.4 km).
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Using data and observations from 1989 to 2021, San Marshall, a planetary scientist Arecibo Observatory In Puerto Rico, DESTINY+ developed a model to determine the shape of Phaethon in preparation for the mission.
“Shape Model Predictions Did Not Match Data,” Marshall A statement. “The time at which the model was brightest was clearly out of sync with the time when Phaethon was actually observed to be brightest. I realized that this could be explained by Phaethon’s rotation period changing slightly before the 2021 observations, perhaps like comet activity. when it was near perihelion [the point in its orbit nearest to the sun] in December 2020.”
Marshall determined that the model that best fit the data included constant rotational acceleration—in other words, a regular decrease in Phaethon’s rotation period of 4 milliseconds per year.
“This is good news for the DESTINY+ team, as a steady transition means that Phaethon’s orientation during the spacecraft’s flyby can be accurately predicted, so they will know which regions will be illuminated by the Sun,” Marshall said.
Scientists are still learning about Phaethon, and the DESTINY+ mission will surely reveal more. But we do know that although Phaethon is large enough and close enough to Earth to be identified as a potentially dangerous asteroid, scientists have determined that it poses no immediate threat to our planet.
The researchers presented the findings earlier this month at the 54th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences in London, Ontario.
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