An “unusual” feature An asteroid that struck Berlin last January continues to surprise scientists

A new study has found that the asteroid that broke through the atmosphere over Germany last January was rotating faster than any other near-Earth object ever recorded.

The space rock, called 2024 BX1, turned into a fireball and exploded over Berlin in the early hours of January 21. Although small asteroids on collision courses with Earth are usually not discovered until they collide with the atmosphere, scientists spotted this asteroid about three hours before it penetrated the sky.

This wasn't the only way 2024 BX1 was unusual, according to a research paper published on arXiv on April 5.

Scientists believe that the asteroid, which was moving at a speed of 50,000 km per hour (31,000 mph), was completing one revolution every 2.6 seconds, equivalent to about 33,000 revolutions per day. It is thus the fastest rotating asteroid ever.

Previously, the record for the fastest asteroid rotation was held by a rock called 2020 HS7, which showed a rotation period of 2.99 seconds. The diameter of this asteroid ranges from 4 to 8 meters, and it is slightly larger than 2024 BX1, which may explain why the latter rotates faster.

Asteroids are known to rotate for various reasons, such as collisions they may have had earlier in their lives. Space rocks are generally larger than a kilometer and cannot rotate more than once every 2.2 hours because they will break.

However, smaller asteroids like 2024 BX1 can sustain much faster rotations because they are more compact.

“It has an internal force, so it can spin faster,” lead author Maxime Devogel, a physicist at the University of Central Florida who works with the European Space Agency, explained to New Scientist.

Scientists reported that knowing the rotation speeds of asteroids flying near Earth could be useful in mitigating the risks posed by such objects to humans and infrastructure.