List of fast rotators (minor planets)

[1][3] As of 2019[update], a group of 887 bodies – most of them are stony near-Earth asteroids with small diameters of barely 1 kilometre – have an estimated period of less than 2.2 hours.

According to the Minor Planet Center, most small bodies are thought to be rubble piles – conglomerations of smaller pieces, loosely coalesced under the influence of gravity.

Bodies with a period below 2.2 hours – known as the "cohesionless spin-barrier" – cannot be merely held together by self-gravity, but must be formed of a contiguous solid, as they would fly apart otherwise.

[3] Via the deduction of strength boundary limits, rotation periods give an insight into the body's internal composition, and, from its degree of fracture, its collisional history can be inferred.

They have an Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) quality code, U, of less than 2, which corresponds to an estimated error margin of larger than 30%.

This plot shows the distribution of rotation periods for 15,000 minor planets as of September 2016, plotted against their diameters. Most bodies have a period between 2 and 20 hours. [ 1 ] [ a ]