Online Encyclopedia
28978 Ixion
28978 Ixion ("ik SIGH un", sometimes "ICK see un") is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of approximately 1055 km and a semimajor axis of about 39.5 AU. Ixion is a Plutino: it has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune.
Orbital characteristics | |
---|---|
Orbit type | Plutino |
Semimajor axis | 39.4851 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.2416 |
Orbital period | 248 Years |
Inclination | 19.627° |
Physical characteristics | |
Diameter | 1055? km |
Albedo | ? |
History | |
Discoverer | Deep Ecliptic Survey |
Discovery Date | 2001-05-22 |
Little is known about Ixion. The latest spectroscopy results indicate that it has a surface that 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 systematic name 2001 KX76.
Reference
- Pre-print http://www.astro.helsinki.fi/~psr/Papers/Ixion-AAL.pdf about Ixion's surface from the Planetary Systems Research group of the University of Helsinki.
Last updated: 01-28-2005 04:36:32
Last updated: 02-09-2005 13:59:19