Michael is right, of course, that Gaspra is not tumbling, but there are things in complex rotation states. Often it's not really tumbling (which to me implies chaotic motion), it is a very slow rotation combined with rapid precession. A worse problem is an object like Mathilde which rotates so slowly that images don't reveal the rotation state.
Michael's comment about the axis is good, but I would define that as north on that body. Mathilde - just an arbitrary choice. We'll see it soon.
Add comment