| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 3552 Don Quixote | |
| Background: |
|
| Discovery Ref: |   |
| Discovered: | 26 September 1983 |
| Mpc Name: | (3552) Don Quixote |
| Alt Names: | 1983 SA |
| Mp Category: | NEOAmor  Mars-crosser Jupiter-crosser Centaur  |
| Orbit Ref: |   |
| Epoch: | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 33.71 yr (12,312 days) |
| Perihelion: | 1.2399 AU |
| Semimajor: | 4.2591 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.7089 |
| Period: | 8.79 yr (3,211 days) |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Inclination: | 31.092° |
| Asc Node: | 350.03° |
| Arg Peri: | 316.42° |
| Moid: | 0.3338 AU |
| Jupiter Moid: | 0.4397 AU |
| Tisserand: | 2.3150 |
| Dimensions: | km |
| Rotation: | 7.7abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Albedo: | 0.03 |
| Abs Magnitude: | 12.9 |
| Magnitude: | 11.67 (1957) to 22.32 |
3552 Don Quixote, provisionally designated, 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.
The asteroid was discovered on 26 September 1983, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland. It was named after the comic knight who is the eponymous hero of Cervantes Spanish novel Don Quixote (1605). The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 December 1990 .
Don Quixote is characterized as a dark D-type asteroid in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy.
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.Due to its comet-like orbit and albedo, Don Quixote has 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 inferred by carbon dioxide molecular band emission. In March 2018 a tail was observed at visible wavelengths for the first time.[1] The observation of cometary features during two apparitions suggests that cometary activity is recurrent and Don Quixote is most likely a weakly active comet.[2]