# Belton 2018: The Excited Spin State of 1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua

> Michael J. S. Belton, Olivier R. Hainaut, Karen J. Meech et al., 2018. 5 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The compiled light curve and the origin…

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[1I/'Oumuamua](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oumuamua)Belton 2018

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# The Excited Spin State of 1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua

Michael J. S. Belton, Olivier R. Hainaut, Karen J. Meech et al., 2018. _The Astrophysical Journal Letters_.

Period analysis of 818 photometric observations over 29.3 days with CLEAN and ANOVA: two fundamental periodicities at 8.67 ± 0.34 h and 3.74 ± 0.11 h, characteristic of an excited spin state. Shows that the body could be a long cigar near its lowest rotational energy or an extremely flattened spheroid near its highest, and that the data cannot tell the two apart. ApJL 856, L21.

**1I/'Oumuamua** Articledoi: **[10.3847/2041-8213/aab370](https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aab370)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The compiled light curve and the origin of the cigar-versus-disc ambiguity.

## Cited by on this site 5 records

[A thin flattened disc (about 1:6) tumbling near its highest rotational energy state.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oumuamua/answers/ANS0CSKCF9453KG/a-thin-flattened-disc-about-1-6-tumbling-near-its-highest)

Answer

ANS

[Belton et al. 2018 observing geometry and new photometry (Tables 1 and 2)](https://mysteriesdept.com/datasets/DAT0CSKCSS2556X/belton-et-al-2018-observing-geometry-and-new-photometry)

Dataset

DAT

[The spin data fit either a cigar or a very flat spheroid and cannot separate them.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oumuamua/evidence/EVD0CSKCFGY7MPV/the-spin-data-fit-either-a-cigar-or-a-very-flat-spheroid-and)

Evidence

EVD

[1I/'Oumuamua](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oumuamua)

The mystery article

MYS

[What shape was 'Oumuamua, and how did it spin?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oumuamua/questions/QST0CSKBZWY4KE5/what-shape-was-oumuamua-and-how-did-it-spin)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Belton, M. J. S., Hainaut, O. R., Meech, K. J., Mueller, B. E. A., Kleyna, J. T., Weaver, H. A., Buie, M. W., Drahus, M., Guzik, P., Wainscoat, R. J., Waniak, W., Handzlik, B., Kurowski, S., Xu, S., Sheppard, S. S., Micheli, M., Ebeling, H., & Keane, J. V. (2018). The Excited Spin State of 1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua. The Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aab370
```

[Read it free at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aab370)

Key

**SRC** 0CSKB3JP48X6

Kind

Journal article

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

27 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published article

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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