Scientists discover fastest orbiting asteroid in the solar system

Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that revolves around our Sun faster than all other space rocks, and believe it was either yanked from an asteroid belt or it could be an extinct comet.

Named 2021 PH27, the newly discovered asteroid completes one orbit around the Sun in 113 days - the shortest orbital period of any cosmic object in our solar system except the planet Mercury.

The asteroid zooms past the Sun with a distance of 20million km during its closest approach, estimated to be twice as close as Mercury’s closest approach, which occurs at a distance of 47million km.