Sun found to alter asteroid rotation rate
From Times Wire Reports
Radiative pressure from the sun can change the rotation rate of asteroids, speeding them up or slowing them down depending on their shape, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Nature.
Measurements showed that, over the last 40 years, the rotation of the asteroid 1862 Apollo has increased by an extra rotation per orbit around the sun. At this rate, the asteroid is expected to break up sometime in the distant future.
The spin rate of the asteroid 2000 PH5 has been increasing by one millisecond per year.
