This is a list of tumblers, that is,
small Solar System bodies
A small Solar System body (SSSB) is an object in the Solar System that is neither a planet, a dwarf planet, nor a natural satellite. The term was first IAU definition of planet, defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as fo ...
s or
moons
A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriva ...
that do not rotate in a fairly constant manner with a constant period. Instead of rotating around a constant axis or around an axis that itself moves evenly, they appear to tumble (see
Poinsot's ellipsoid
In classical mechanics, Poinsot's construction (after Louis Poinsot) is a geometrical method for visualizing the torque-free motion of a rotating rigid body, that is, the motion of a rigid body on which no external forces are acting. This motion ha ...
for an explanation).
For true tumbling, the three
moments of inertia
The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular/rotational mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is defined relatively to a rotational axis. It is the ratio between ...
must be different. If two are equal, then the axis of rotation will simply
precess
Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In ot ...
in a circle. As of 2018, there are 3
natural satellite
A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriv ...
s and 198 confirmed or likely tumblers out of a total of nearly 800,000 discovered small Solar System bodies. The data is sourced from the "Lightcurve Data Base" (LCDB).
The tumbling of a body can be caused by the torque from asymmetrically emitted radiation known as the
YORP effect
The Yarkovsky–O'Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect, or YORP effect for short, changes the rotation state of a small astronomical body – that is, the body's spin rate and the obliquity of its pole(s) – due to the scattering of solar radia ...
.
Note that the rotation periods given below are apparent periods and are not constant for a tumbler. There is another definition of rotation, sometimes called
intrinsic rotation, that relates to how the point on the object which is oriented along the axis of angular momentum moves around a principal axis on the object. The period for this rotation is constant, but may be quite different from the apparent rotation period. For example, for
99942 Apophis
99942 Apophis ( provisional designation ) is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object, 450 metres (1,480 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft) in size, that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observatio ...
it is around 263 hours, whereas the apparent period is only around 31 hours.
Natural satellites (moons)
This is a list of tumbling
natural satellite
A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriv ...
s (moons) that orbit
planets
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets by the most restrictive definition of the te ...
and
dwarf planets
A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit around the Sun, massive enough to be hydrostatic equilibrium, gravitationally rounded, but insufficient to achieve clearing the neighbourhood, orbital dominance like the ...
in the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
.
Small Solar System bodies
See also
*
List of slow rotators (minor planets)
This is a list of slow rotators—minor planets that have an exceptionally long rotation period. This period, typically given in hours, and sometimes called rotation rate or spin rate, is a fundamental standard physical property for minor p ...
*
List of fast rotators (minor planets)
This is a list of fast rotators—"minor planets" (which includes asteroids) that have an exceptionally short rotation period, i.e. high rotation rate or spin rate. In some cases the rotation period is not constant because the object tumb ...
Notes
References
External links
Those Tumbling Asteroids ''The Messenger'' (1976),
ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European ...
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) query form
JPL Small-Body Database Browser
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of tumblers
Tumblers (small Solar System bodies)
tumblers
Tumbler may refer to:
* Tumbler (firearms), a part of the firing mechanism in older firearms
* Tumbler (glass), a type of glassware
* Tumbler (pigeon), a pigeon breed
* Tumbler (Project Xanadu), a unique identifier of a unit of text or an e ...