Discovered by P. Wild Discovery date 26 September 1983 Alternative names 1983 SA Discovered 26 September 1983 | Discovery site Zimmerwald Obs. Orbital period 3,178 days Orbits Sun | |
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Similar Sun, Solar System, 4954 Eric, 1221 Amor, 1036 Ganymed | ||
Asteroid 3552 don quixote turned into a comet
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. Don Quixote measures 18.4 kilometres in diameter and has a rotation period of 7.7 hours. 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).
Contents
- Asteroid 3552 don quixote turned into a comet
- Massive asteroid 3552 don quixote flyby september 2013
- References
Due to its comet-like orbit and albedo, Don Quixote has ever been suspected to be an extinct comet. However, infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 μm revealed a faint coma and tail around the object. 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.