<p>According to <a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.01249" rel="noreferrer">Vokrouhlicky et al. 2015</a> Yarkovsky forces can be measured for small bodies with diameters up to 30-40 km. The largest object they have in their list of Yarkovsky detections is 4179 Toutatis with a diameter of (only) 2.8 km. I am not aware if Yarkovsky forces have been measured on anything larger than asteroids.</p>

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2015-05-01T17:30:13.503Z
2015-05-01T17:30:13.503Z
mommermi
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarkovsky_effect" rel="nofollow">Yarkovsky effect</a> is responsible for changes in the rotation and orbit of some celestial bodies, most notably asteroids. It has been measured on asteroids, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6489_Golevka" rel="nofollow">6489 Golevka</a> and <a href="http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/the-yarkovsky-effect-pushing-asteroids-around-with-sunlight" rel="nofollow">1999 RQ36</a>.</p>

<p>What is the largest object on which the Yarkovsky effect has been observed? <a href="http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Yarkovsky_and_YORP_effects#Detection_of_Yarkovsky_effect" rel="nofollow">Scholarpedia has an excellent article and list of asteroids</a>, but the list isn't necessarily complete, and I don't know if the effect has been detected on other (non-asteroid) bodies.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-06T13:11:27.213Z
only slightly related: [Would the Yarkovsky effect ever be faster than a solar sail from a 1 AU orbit to the Sun?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/44624/12102)
uhoh
<orbit><observational-astronomy><rotation><asteroids>
What is the largest object on which the Yarkovsky effect has been observed?
HDE 226868
# What is the largest object on which the Yarkovsky effect has been observed?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-30)

The [Yarkovsky effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarkovsky_effect) is responsible for changes in the rotation and orbit of some celestial bodies, most notably asteroids. It has been measured on asteroids, such as [6489 Golevka](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6489_Golevka) and [1999 RQ36](http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/the-yarkovsky-effect-pushing-asteroids-around-with-sunlight).

What is the largest object on which the Yarkovsky effect has been observed? [Scholarpedia has an excellent article and list of asteroids](http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Yarkovsky_and_YORP_effects#Detection_of_Yarkovsky_effect), but the list isn't necessarily complete, and I don't know if the effect has been detected on other (non-asteroid) bodies.

**Tags:** orbit, observational-astronomy, rotation, asteroids
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: only slightly related: [Would the Yarkovsky effect ever be faster than a solar sail from a 1 AU orbit to the Sun?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/44624/12102)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-05-01. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

According to [Vokrouhlicky et al. 2015](http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.01249) Yarkovsky forces can be measured for small bodies with diameters up to 30-40 km. The largest object they have in their list of Yarkovsky detections is 4179 Toutatis with a diameter of (only) 2.8 km. I am not aware if Yarkovsky forces have been measured on anything larger than asteroids.


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