3552 Don Quixote

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3552 Don Quixote
3552Don2-LB4-mag15.jpg
Don Quixote (apmag 15) near perihelion
taken in Pingelly, Australia, 2009
Discovery  [1]
Discovered by P. Wild
Discovery site Zimmerwald Obs.
Discovery date26 September 1983
Designations
(3552) Don Quixote
Named after
 Don Quixote fictional character [2]
1983 SA
NEO  · Amor   [1]
Mars-crosser
Jupiter-crosser
Centaur   [3]
Orbital characteristics   [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 33.71 yr (12,312 days)
Aphelion 7.2783 AU
Perihelion 1.2399 AU
4.2591 AU
Eccentricity 0.7089
8.79 yr (3,211 days)
332.47°
0° 6m 43.56s / day
Inclination 31.092°
350.03°
316.42°
Earth  MOID 0.3338 AU
Jupiter  MOID 0.4397 AU
TJupiter 2.3150
Physical characteristics
Dimensions18.4±0.4 km [4]
7.7  h (0.32  d) [3] [5]
0.03 [1] [4]
D (Tholen) · D (SMASS)
11.67 (1957) to 22.32 [lower-alpha 1]
12.9

    3552 Don Quixote, provisionally designated 1983 SA, is an exceptionally eccentric asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Amor group, Mars-crosser and Jupiter-crosser, as well as a weakly active comet.

    Contents

    Discovery and naming

    The asteroid was discovered on 26 September 1983, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland. [6] It was named after the comic knight who is the eponymous hero of Cervantes ' Spanish novel Don Quixote (1605). [2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 December 1990 ( M.P.C. 17466). [7]

    Orbit and characteristics

    Don Quixote is characterized as a dark D-type asteroid in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy. [1]

    It has a highly inclined comet-like orbit of 31 degrees that leads to frequent perturbations by Jupiter. [8] Don Quixote measures 18.4 kilometres in diameter and has a rotation period of 7.7 hours. [1] [4]

    Don Quixote by Spitzer Space Telescope, featuring its coma and tail. Pia17443 - Spitzer Spies Don Quixote.jpg
    Don Quixote by Spitzer Space Telescope, featuring its coma and tail.

    Due to its comet-like orbit and albedo, Don Quixote has been suspected to be an extinct comet. [9] However, infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 μm revealed a faint coma and tail around the object. [4] The cometary activity is inferred by carbon dioxide (CO2) molecular band emission. In March 2018 a tail was observed at visible wavelengths for the first time. [10] The observation of cometary features during two apparitions suggests that cometary activity is recurrent and Don Quixote is most likely a weakly active comet. [11]

    Notes

    1. ↑ Magnitudes generated with JPL Horizons for the year 1950 through 2100

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3552 Don Quixote (1983 SA)" (2017-05-26 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3552) Don Quixote". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3552) Don Quixote. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 298. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3551. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. 1 2 "LCDB Data for (3552) Don Quixote". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Mommert, Michael; Hora, Joseph L.; Harris, Alan W.; Reach, William T.; Emery, Joshua P.; Thomas, Cristina A.; et al. (January 2014). "The Discovery of Cometary Activity in Near-Earth Asteroid (3552) Don Quixote". The Astrophysical Journal. 781 (1): 10. arXiv: 1312.0673 . Bibcode:2014ApJ...781...25M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/781/1/25. S2CID   55970156 . Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    5. ↑ "European Asteroid Research Node:(3552) Don Quixote". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
    6. ↑ "3552 Don Quixote (1983 SA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    7. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    8. ↑ "JPL Close-Approach Data: 3552 Don Quixote (1983 SA)" (2 May 2009 last obs). Retrieved 6 May 2009.
    9. ↑ Lupishko, D. F.; di Martino, M.; Lupishko, T. A. (September 2000). "What the physical properties of near-Earth asteroids tell us about sources of their origin?". Kinematika I Fizika Nebesnykh Tel Supplimen. 3 (3): 213–216. Bibcode:2000KFNTS...3..213L . Retrieved 16 June 2017.
    10. ↑ Mommert, Michael (March 2018). "CBET 4502: 20180329 : (3552) DON QUIXOTE". Central Bureau of Electronic Telegrams (Harvard)– via Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams (Harvard).
    11. ↑ Mommert, Michael; Hora, Joseph L.; Trilling, David E.; Biver, Nicolas; Wierzchos, Kacper; Harrington Pinto, Olga; Agarwal, Jessica; Kim, Yoonyoung; McNeill, Andrew; Womack, Maria; Knight, Matthew M.; Polishook, David; Moskovitz, Nick; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Smith, Howard A. (1 June 2020). "Recurrent Cometary Activity in Near-Earth Object (3552) Don Quixote". The Planetary Science Journal. 1 (1): 12. doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ab8ae5 .
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