Fast Rotation of Asteroids (FASTROTA26)

The project Fast Rotation of Asteroids 2026 has as its main objective to make significant progress in the understanding and characterization of asteroids with particularly high rotation rates. On one hand, it focuses on fast rotators (those with a rotation period below the 2-hour spin barrier), and on the other, on metallic asteroids, for which multiple lines of evidence suggest they rotate faster than other taxonomic classes.

The study will be carried out through the execution and analysis of observations made with professional ground-based telescopes, thereby facilitating the development of space missions targeting these objects.

If successful, the project will produce scientific publications in leading peer-reviewed astronomy journals, as well as a digital database of observations of the selected asteroids, compiling the scientific images obtained during the project for future economic, scientific, and technical use.