) Asteroid 298 Baptistina (apparent magnitude 15.2) near a mag 15.3 star | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Auguste Charlois |
| Discovery date | 9 September 1890 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (298) Baptistina |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 123.99 yr (45289 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.4805 AU (371.08 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.0475 AU (306.30 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 2.2640 AU (338.69 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.095630 |
| 3.41 yr (1244.3 d) | |
| 209.69° | |
| 0° 17m 21.588s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.2884° |
| 8.2161° | |
| 135.004° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 13–30 km[2][3] |
| X-type | |
| 11.2 | |
Baptistina (minor planet designation: 298 Baptistina) is an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It is the namesake of the Baptistina family. It was discovered on 9 September 1890 by Auguste Charlois of Nice. The source of its name is unknown.[4] It measures about 13 to 30 kilometres (8 to 19 mi) in diameter. Although it has an orbit similar to the Flora family asteroids, Baptistina is an unrelated interloper.[5] It was once considered a possible source of the impactor that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, a possibility ruled out by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in 2011. (See Baptistina family.)
References
- ^ a b "298 Baptistina". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ Reddy V., et al. (2008). Composition of 298 Baptistina: Implications for K–T Impactor Link, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors conference.
- ^ a b Majaess D., Higgins D., Molnar L., Haegert M., Lane D., Turner D., Nielsen I. (2008). New Constraints on the Asteroid 298 Baptistina, the Alleged Family Member of the K/T Impactor Archived 14 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine, accepted for publication in the JRASC
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 41. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ M. Florczak et al. A Visible Spectroscopic Survey of the Flora Clan, Icarus Vol. 133, p. 233 (1998)
External links
- Lightcurve plot of 298 Baptistina, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2009)
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)–(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 298 Baptistina at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 298 Baptistina at the JPL Small-Body Database
