The meteoroid 1998 KY₂₆ (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). Somewhat arbitrarily, an object must be at least 50 m in diameter to be considered an asteroid; 1998 KY₂₆ has a shape similar to a sphere and is about only 30 m (100 ft) in diameter. 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. A meteoroid is a relatively small (sand- to boulder-sized) fragment of debris in the Solar System. ... In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few hundred stars and the most easily visible planets had names. ... 2 June is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1998 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... A sphere is, roughly speaking, a ball-shaped object. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Steven J. Ostro is an astronomer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ... The Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Pasadena, California builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for NASA. JPL-run projects include the Galileo Jupiter mission and the Mars rovers, including the 1997 Mars Pathfinder and the twin 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... An optical telescope is a telescope which is used to gather, and focus, light, for directly viewing a magnified image, making a photograph, etc. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle (R) Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Official languages English Only State Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ...

Asteroid 1998 KY₂₆ 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 1998 KY₂₆ was found to be a fast rotator, several other small asteroids have been found to also have short rotation periods, some even faster than 1998 KY₂₆. Presentation of the Solar system (not to scale). ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ...

Three views of a computer model of Asteroid 1998 KY₂₆

Download high resolution version (835x246, 15 KB) A 3D computer model of Asteroid 1998 KY26 Copyright status Public domain: NASAs JPL Digital Image Animation Laboratory. ... Download high resolution version (835x246, 15 KB) A 3D computer model of Asteroid 1998 KY26 Copyright status Public domain: NASAs JPL Digital Image Animation Laboratory. ...

External links

• Scott Hudson's Homepage: The Earth-Crossing Asteroid 1998 KY₂₆
• Steven Ostro's Homepage: 1998 KY₂₆

References

• Media Relations Office. Sun never sets, for long, on fast-spinning, water-rich asteroid (press release). Pasadena, California: Jet Propulsion Laboratory. July 22, 1999.