28978 Ixion
From Freepedia
| Discovery A | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | Deep Ecliptic Survey |
| Discovery date | 22 May, 2001 |
| Alternate designations | 2001 KX76 B |
| Category | Plutino |
| Orbital elements C | |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.2412 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 39.5391 AU |
| Perihelion (q) | 30.0009 AU |
| Aphelion (Q) | 49.0773 AU |
| Orbital period (P) | 248.6269 years |
| Mean orbital speed | |
| Inclination (i) | 19.6134 ° |
| Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) | 71.0268° |
| Argument of perihelion (ω) | 299.6294° |
| Mean anomaly (M) | 264.7279° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | <822 km diameter |
| Mass | |
| Density | |
| Surface gravity | |
| Escape velocity | |
| Rotation period | |
| Spectral class | |
| Absolute magnitude | 3.244 |
| Albedo | 15% |
| Mean surface temperature | |
(28978) Ixion (ik·sye'·un) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of < 822 km and a semimajor axis of about 39.5 AU. Ixion is a Plutino, meaning it has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune.
Little is known about this object. The latest spectroscopy results indicate that the Ixionian surface is a mixture of dark carbon and tholin, which is a heteropolymer formed by irradiation of clathrates of water and organic compounds (such as methane or ethane).
(28978) Ixion is named after Ixion, a figure from Greek mythology. It previously had the provisional designation 2001 KX76.
Reference
- Pre-print about Ixion's surface from the Planetary Systems Research group of the University of Helsinki.
… | Previous asteroid | 28978 Ixion | Next asteroid | …
| Large trans-Neptunian objectsedit |
| Kuiper belt: Pluto (Charon) | Orcus | Ixion | 2002 UX25 | Varuna 2002 TX300 | 2003 EL61 | Quaoar | 2005 FY9 | 2002 AW197 |
| Scattered disc: 2003 UB313 | Sedna† |
| See also Triton, astronomical objects and the solar system's list of objects, sorted by radius or mass. For pronunciation, see: Centaur and TNO pronunciation. † Current MPC classification. Some consider Sedna an Oort cloud object. |
| The minor planetsedit |
| Vulcanoids | Main belt | Groups and families | Near-Earth objects | Jupiter Trojans |
| Centaurs | Damocloids | Comets | Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt | Scattered disc | Oort cloud) |
| For other objects and regions, see: Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons and the Solar system For a complete listing, see: List of asteroids. For pronunciation, see: Pronunciation of asteroid names. |
