An Emirati observatory participates in determining the rotation period of asteroids

The Seal Astronomical Observatory in Abu Dhabi, through global cooperation with various astronomical observatories under the supervision of the British Royal Astronomical Society, was able to determine the period of rotation of some asteroids around themselves.

The monitoring was carried out using the main observatory’s 14-inch telescope, where a number of asteroids were identified for monitoring. The Seal Observatory, in partnership with international observatories, monitored them for several consecutive days, and after the monitoring process, the rotational period of each asteroid was determined.

Among the asteroids that were monitored are the asteroid (5203 PAVAROTTI), which was found to revolve around itself once every 6.93 hours, the asteroid (2032 Ethel), which revolves around itself once every 48.2 hours, the asteroid (4510 Shawna), which revolves around itself once every 47.93 hours, and the asteroid (2821 Slavka) which rotates around itself once every 202.5 hours, And the asteroid (1987 UP2), which revolves around itself once every 600.4 hours.

The importance of global cooperation in this type of observation lies in the fact that some asteroids have a long period of rotation around themselves, or multiples of one day, which makes it difficult to find the period of rotation by observing from one location. Observing from different and distant locations makes it easier to find the period of rotation of the asteroid. This type of observation may be accompanied by important scientific discoveries, such as the discovery of rings or moons of the observed asteroids. Indeed, the results of one of the aforementioned asteroid observations showed a strange pattern of change. Shining, and research is still underway to find out the reason for this pattern. The UAE Meteorology was the first to notice this pattern and alerted other observers to it.

The monitoring process consists of photographing the asteroid in a series of successive images for a period of several hours and over several nights, and then each image is analyzed separately, and the intensity of the asteroid’s brightness is measured in each of these images. After the analysis, it is noted that the asteroid’s brightness varies periodically, and the reason for this difference is the rotation of the asteroid. The asteroid revolves around itself, because the shape of small asteroids is irregular, and as they rotate around themselves, the percentage of their reflection of the sun’s rays varies, and thus their apparent brightness varies as we see them from Earth, and by determining the periodic time of the difference, the period of rotation is known. The asteroid rotates around itself.

These observations resulted in the publication of a scientific research in the scientific journal (The Minor Planet Bulletin), in the January-March 2025 issue, entitled:
Lightcurve and Rotation Period Analysis of 1908 Pobeda, 2168 Swope, and 5203 Pavarotti

The research presents the results of asteroid observations carried out by 11 global observatories, one of which was the Seal Astronomical Observatory, and shows the light curve of each asteroid that was observed, along with an explanation of the rotational period of each asteroid.