{
  "abstract": "(469219) Kamo‘oalewa is the most stable Earth quasi-satellite and the target of China’s Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return mission. Due to its small size, fast rotation, and the limited observing geometry accessible from the ground, many physical properties of Kamo‘oalewa remain poorly constrained, including the rotational state and shape. We obtained three epochs of high-cadence, high signal-to-noise photometric lightcurves of Kamo‘oalewa with the Gemini North Telescope from 2026 April to May, supplemented by one lightcurve from the Lowell Discovery Telescope in 2026 May. Our analysis suggests that Kamo‘oalewa is in a non-principal-axis rotation with an elongated shape. Four possible solutions exist, including a long-axis mode (LAM) solution and a short-axis mode (SAM) solution, as well as their corresponding mirrored angular momentum directions. The most preferable solution has a LAM model with a precession period P ϕ = ( 27.65 ± 0.03 ) minutes and a rotational period P ψ = ( 50.49 ± 0.08 ) minutes , and the angular momentum points to ecliptic coordinates ( λ , β ) = (226° ± 20°, −39° ± 20°), although we cannot rule out other solutions or other close-by periods due to aliasing. We also derived a convex shape inversion for the LAM models with consistent rotational parameters but could not find a satisfactory inversion for the SAM models. The corresponding angular momentum points to ( λ , β ) = (225°, −43°), and the periods are P ϕ = 27.90 minutes and P ψ = 49.66 minutes . The non-principal-axis rotation provides additional constraints on the dynamic history or the internal structure of Kamo‘oalewa.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Beihang University",
    "Sun Yat-sen University",
    "Universidad Diego Portales",
    "Planetary Science Institute",
    "Charles University",
    "Lowell Observatory",
    "Northern Arizona University",
    "Chinese Academy of Sciences"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoyu 效宇 Sun 孙"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhijun 志军 Song 宋"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Hanjie 瀚杰 Tan 谭",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6144-3062"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Bin 彬 Yang 杨",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5033-9593"
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    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Josef Ďurech",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4914-3646"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nicholas Moskovitz",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6765-6336"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Audrey Thirouin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1506-4248"
    },
    {
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        5,
        6
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      "name": "Samantha Hemmelgarn",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-1160-3829"
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    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wen 文 Bo 博"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yang 洋 Yu 于",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9329-7015"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Jian-Yang 荐扬 Li 李",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3841-9977"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fnsnartyrvsg2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/2041-8213/aeaa5b",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fnsnartyrvsg2",
  "issns": [
    "2041-8205",
    "2041-8213"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeaa5b",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astro and Planetary Science"
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  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeaa5b/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fnsnartyrvsg2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:13Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/2041-8213/aeaa5b",
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      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeaa5b"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Astro and Planetary Science",
      "subfield": "planetary"
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  ],
  "title": "The Non-principal-axis Rotation and Convex Shape Model of the Earth Quasi-satellite and Target of China’s Tianwen-2 Mission (469219) Kamo‘oalewa",
  "title_text": "The Non-principal-axis Rotation and Convex Shape Model of the Earth Quasi-satellite and Target of China’s Tianwen-2 Mission (469219) Kamo‘oalewa",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:13Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fnsnartyrvsg2",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal Letters",
  "versions": []
}