Scientists at the University of Alicante in Spain have discovered that the asteroid Didymos can spin so fast that it throws debris near its equator. This is reported in an article published in the journal Icarus.

Didymos has an asteroid-satellite - Dimorphos. It was assumed that Dimorphos appeared due to the debris thrown into space by his companion. As pieces of material separated, they gathered side by side and eventually merged to form a new cosmic body.

To date, the research team has been able to measure the size and mass of the asteroid and determine at least some of its composition. They also determined that the speed of its rotation is so high that this helps to explain the unusual shape of the asteroid. A computer model showed that it was spinning fast enough to eject material from the equatorial region.

If the material is ejected, four scenarios are possible: the material could simply fall back onto the asteroid, fly off into space, end up orbiting the asteroid, or land on Dimorphos. At the moment, scientists consider the first option the most likely.

Previously, researchers observed the collision of the DART spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos, which occurred on September 26, 2022. Scientists calculated orbital changes due to collision and ejection of debris and came to the conclusion that the results of the experiment confirm the possibility of redirecting near-Earth objects.