3552 Don Quixote

3552 Don Quixote
Discovery
Don Quixote (apmag 15) near perihelion taken in Pingelly, Australia, 2009
Discovered by	P. Wild
Discovery site	Zimmerwald Obs.
Discovery date	26 September 1983
Designations
MPC designation	3552 Don Quixote
Named after	Don Quixote
Alternative names	1983 SA
Minor planet category	NEA, Amor (IV) Mars-crosser Jupiter-crosser
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	11885 days (32.54 yr)
Aphelion	7.2531 AU (1.08505 Tm)
Perihelion	1.2204 AU (182.57 Gm)
Semi-major axis	4.2367 AU (633.80 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.71195
Orbital period	8.72 yr (3185.3 d)
Average orbital speed	12.41 km/s
Mean anomaly	264.55°
Mean motion	0° 6^m 46.872^s / day
Inclination	31.210°
Longitude of ascending node	350.02°
Argument of perihelion	316.90°
Earth MOID	0.312024 AU (46.6781 Gm)
Jupiter MOID	0.439467 AU (65.7433 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter	2.312
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	18.4 km
Mean radius	9.5 km
Rotation period	7.7 h (0.32 d)
Geometric albedo	0.03
Temperature	~ 138 K
Spectral type	D (Tholen), D (SMASS)
Apparent magnitude	11.67 (1957) to 22.32
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.9

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).

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 CO₂molecular 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.

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