glenc
01-06-2008, 12:37 AM
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/19353774.html
When a tiny object called 2008 HJ flew past Earth last month, observations by British amateur astronomer Richard Miles showed it to be about 12 by 24 meters long (the size of a nice yacht), tumbling end over end as it hurtled by. More surprising is that it turned once every 42.7 seconds — 66 times faster than Seattle's Space Needle — making this the fastest-spinning natural body yet known in our solar system...
Miles, a past president of the British Astronomical Association, wasn't simply using his backyard observatory in Dorset for this find. He was logged on to the 2.0-meter (80-inch) Faulkes Telescope South (http://faulkes-telescope.com/) at Siding Spring, Australia, via the Internet...
When a tiny object called 2008 HJ flew past Earth last month, observations by British amateur astronomer Richard Miles showed it to be about 12 by 24 meters long (the size of a nice yacht), tumbling end over end as it hurtled by. More surprising is that it turned once every 42.7 seconds — 66 times faster than Seattle's Space Needle — making this the fastest-spinning natural body yet known in our solar system...
Miles, a past president of the British Astronomical Association, wasn't simply using his backyard observatory in Dorset for this find. He was logged on to the 2.0-meter (80-inch) Faulkes Telescope South (http://faulkes-telescope.com/) at Siding Spring, Australia, via the Internet...