【#Tech24H】The Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with domestic and international scientists, has cataloged that asteroid 2024 XA1 is the fastest-rotating near-Earth asteroid currently known. Asteroid 2024 XA1 entered Earth’s atmosphere over eastern Siberia in the early hours of December 4, 2024, Beijing time. Only about 10 hours passed from its discovery to its atmospheric entry, making it the 11th successfully predicted near-Earth asteroid impact event in human history. Research shows that 2024 XA1 has a rotation period of only 1.63 seconds, breaking the previous record of 2.58 seconds held by another asteroid. Its equivalent diameter is about 0.55 meters—very small, yet spinning at an astonishing speed. The research team’s new method can efficiently resolve the rotation and structural information of fast-moving asteroids, improving the ability to obtain the physical characteristics of asteroids in impact-warning events and providing scientific support for deploying and conducting planetary defense missions. As of October 10 this year, 42,752 near-Earth asteroids have been confirmed.[ By Zhang Liyan | Tang Ruohan ]