3552 Don Quixote, provisionally designated 1983 SA, 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.
Discovery and naming
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 CervantesSpanish novel Don Quixote (1605). The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 December 1990 (). == Orbit and characteristics ==
Orbit and characteristics
Don Quixote is characterized as a dark D-type asteroid in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy. The observation of cometary features during two apparitions suggests that cometary activity is recurrent and Don Quixote is most likely a weakly active comet. == Notes ==