Dzhanibekov asteroids

[Teilnehmer]

There are lots of asteroids in the Solar system. Some of them have weird shapes.

How probable is it for an asteroid to demonstrate Dzhanibekov effect while spinning? Is there any evidence of such asteroids?

If an asteroid has a suitable shape and has received a proper spin (after a collision or something), how long can it spin Dzhanibekov-style?

As far as I understand, astronomers can detect the spin of an asteroid by observing the changes in its luminosity in time.

Can Dzhanibekov effect be recognized by the pattern of luminosity changes? (E.g. patterns like ABCABCABCDCBACBACBADABCABCABC.)

 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Teilnehmer

[DDE]

1 hour ago, Teilnehmer said:

Can Dzhanibekov effect be recognized by the pattern of luminosity changes? (E.g. patterns like ABCABCABCDCBACBACBADABCABCABC.)

I rather doubt that, because you'd be seeing a mere light curve. This means B and C or C and D are near-impossible to tell apart.

Without knowing what you're looking for, you'd be too busy trying to fit the observations to a curve rather than trying to come up with a relatively fanciful explanation for occasional anomalies, if you can even detect those.

Now maybe, maybe if it's A that gets "disappeared" by the Dzhanibekov flip, someone might notice...