Euclid: Asteroid rotation periods from the Euclid Ecliptic Survey^★

¹ Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
² ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
³ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
⁴ European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁶ Asteroid Engineering Laboratory, Luleå University of Technology, Box 848, 98128 Kiruna, Sweden
⁷ Department of Mathematics and Physics E. De Giorgi, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP-I93, 73100 Lecce, Italy
⁸ INFN, Sezione di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, CP-193, 73100 Lecce, Italy
⁹ INAF-Sezione di Lecce, c/o Dipartimento Matematica e Fisica, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹⁰ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France
¹¹ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
¹² Université de Franche-Comté, Institut UTINAM, CNRS UMR6213, OSU THETA Franche-Comté-Bourgogne, Observatoire de Besançon, BP 1615, 25010 Besançon Cedex, France
¹³ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
¹⁴ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
¹⁵ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
¹⁶ Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
¹⁷ FRACTAL S.L.N.E., calle Tulipán 2, Portal 13 1A, 28231, Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
¹⁸ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
¹⁹ Universidad de La Laguna, Dpto. Astrofísica, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
²⁰ Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, ESAC Campus, Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
²¹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
²² INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
²³ IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
²⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
²⁵ INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127 Trieste TS, Italy
²⁶ SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste TS, Italy
²⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁸ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁹ INFN – Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
³⁰ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
³¹ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova, Italy
³² INFN – Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
³³ Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126, Napoli, Italy
³⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
³⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁶ INFN – Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁷ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
³⁸ INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
³⁹ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁴⁰ Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁴¹ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici RDIT, Campus UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
⁴² Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁴³ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
⁴⁴ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁵ Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
⁴⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁴⁷ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁴⁸ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, Villeurbanne 69100, France
⁴⁹ Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
⁵⁰ Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
⁵¹ Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁵² UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
⁵³ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁵⁴ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
⁵⁵ INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00100 Roma, Italy
⁵⁶ University Observatory, LMU Faculty of Physics, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 Munich, Germany
⁵⁷ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 München, Germany
⁵⁸ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁵⁹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
⁶⁰ Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
⁶¹ Felix Hormuth Engineering, Goethestr. 17, 69181 Leimen, Germany
⁶² Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁶³ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Denmark
⁶⁴ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁶⁵ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁶⁶ Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
⁶⁷ Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
⁶⁸ Laboratoire d’etude de l’Univers et des phenomenes eXtremes, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 92190 Meudon, France
⁶⁹ SKAO, Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington, Macclesfield SK11 9FT, UK
⁷⁰ Centre de Calcul de l’IN2P3/CNRS, 21 avenue Pierre de Coubertin 69627 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
⁷¹ Universität Bonn, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁷² INFN-Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio G. Marconi, 00185 Roma, Italy
⁷³ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
⁷⁴ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁷⁵ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
⁷⁶ Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁷⁷ CNRS-UCB International Research Laboratory, Centre Pierre Binétruy, IRL2007, CPB-IN2P3, Berkeley, USA
⁷⁸ Telespazio UK S.L. for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁷⁹ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁸⁰ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁸¹ DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 155, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
⁸² Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
⁸³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
⁸⁴ Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
⁸⁵ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁸⁶ Institute of Space Science, Str. Atomistilor, nr. 409 Măgurele, Ilfov 077125, Romania
⁸⁷ Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Calle Serrano 117, 28006 Madrid, Spain
⁸⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁸⁹ INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁹⁰ Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
⁹¹ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁹² Université St Joseph, Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
⁹³ Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
⁹⁴ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁹⁵ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
⁹⁶ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁹⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
⁹⁸ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
⁹⁹ Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
¹⁰⁰ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, Plaza del Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
¹⁰¹ Caltech/IPAC, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹⁰² Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹⁰³ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁰⁴ ICL, Junia, Université Catholique de Lille, LITL, 59000 Lille, France
¹⁰⁵ California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹⁰⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada

^★★ Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 11 February 2026
Accepted: 19 March 2026

Abstract

The Euclid Ecliptic Survey was conducted during the calibration phase of the mission, from 23 to 31 December 2023, as a campaign to study Solar System objects. We used data from this survey to analyse more than 23 000 appeareances of 2321 known asteroids. Due to their high apparent angular motion relative to the background stars (5–60″ h⁻¹), these objects appear as streaks in VIS long-exposure images. We set out to estimate their spin periods, since only 7% of them have periods published in the literature. We used multiple apertures along each streak to increase the time resolution of our light curves. Our method combines a Lomb–Scargle approach with a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to characterise the posterior distributions. Some asteroids show multimodality in the MCMC search, indicating period aliases; in these cases, we report all aliases and their likelihoods. We validate our pipeline by comparing our fitted periods with 48 published periods, including period harmonics. We find that 44% of our periods are within 1% of those published and 98% are within 15%, and we establish that with 98% confidence the best solution can be found among the first three aliases. All reliable periods reported are in agreement with our current understanding of the spin-period distribution for asteroids. We find 16 periods below the spin barrier of 2.2 h with absolute magnitudes below 19, and thus 16 candidate super-fast rotators. We provide light curves for all 2321 objects observed and 889 high-quality periods in an open-access catalogue. The asteroids with reported periods include five Mars crossers, four Cybeles, four Hildas, three Hungarias, and 877 asteroids in other regions of the main belt. Our results represent the first batch of spin periods extracted from light curves and include the first-ever period measurements for 93% of the objects.