Record-breaking asteroid discovered by Rubin
Published 8 January 2026
An artist's illustration of 2025 MN45
NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/P. Marenfeld
The first peer-reviewed paper to use LSST Camera data has highlighted the fastest-ever spinning asteroid, named 2025 MN45.
The object is one of 19 super- and fast-rotating asteroids observed by Rubin during data collection in advance of June 2025’s First Look event. Named 2025 MN45, the asteroid is 710 metres (0.4 miles) in diameter and completes a full rotation every 1.88 minutes. This makes it the fastest-spinning asteroid with a diameter over 500 metres ever found.
Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study uses data collected between 21 April to 5 May 2025. It was led by Sarah Greenstreet, NSF NOIRLab assistant astronomer and lead of Rubin Observatory’s Solar System Science Collaboration’s Near-Earth Objects and Interstellar Objects working group.
The open access paper, Lightcurves, Rotation Periods, and Colors for Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s First Asteroid Discoveries, presents 76 asteroids with reliable rotation periods. This includes 16 super-fast rotators with rotation periods between roughly 13 minutes and 2.2 hours, and three ultra-fast rotators that complete a full spin in less than five minutes.
Find out more
Read the paper: Lightcurves, Rotation Periods, and Colors for Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s First Asteroid Discoveries
Background image credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/P. Marenfeld