3552 Don Quixote
|
|
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 September 1983 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 3552 Don Quixote |
|
Named after
|
Don Quixote[2] |
| 1983 SA | |
| NEA, Amor (IV) Mars-crosser Jupiter-crosser |
|
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 31.51 yr (11,510 days) |
| Aphelion | 7.2397 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.2115 AU |
| 4.2256 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.7132 |
| 8.69 yr (3172.7 days) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
12.41 km/s[citation needed] |
| 241.43° | |
| Inclination | 31.122° |
| 350.09° | |
| 317.04° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.3044 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 18.4 km[3] |
| 7.7 h[1][4] | |
| 0.03[1][3] | |
| Temperature | ~ 138 K[citation needed] |
| D (Tholen), D (SMASS) | |
| 11.67 (1957) to 22.32[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 12.9 | |
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3552 Don Quixote, provisionally designated 1983 SA, is a near-Earth asteroid (NEA), also classified as Amor, Mars-crossing, and Jupiter-crossing asteroid. It has a highly inclined comet-like orbit of 31 degrees that leads to frequent perturbations by Jupiter.[5] Don Quixote measures 18.4 kilometres in diameter and has a rotation period of 7.7 hours.[1][3] It was discovered by Paul Wild at the Swiss Zimmerwald Observatory in 1983, and is named after the comic knight who is the eponymous hero of Cervantes' Spanish novel Don Quixote (1605).[1][2]
Due to its comet-like orbit and albedo, Don Quixote has ever been suspected to be an extinct comet.[6] However, infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 μm revealed a faint coma and tail around the object.[3] The cometary activity is interpreted as CO2 molecular band emission. It is not clear if the observed activity is persistent or an outburst, resulting from the excavation of sub-surface CO2 ice due to a recent impact of a smaller body.
Notes
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris
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