28978 Ixion: Plutino
28978 Ixion is a Kuiper belt object that was found on 22 May, 2001.
Ixion is a plutino (an object that has a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune) and could be a dwarf planet. Astronomers think that it has a diameter of about 800 km, which makes it the third biggest plutino. It is named after Ixion, a figure from Greek mythology. Before it was named Ixion, it had the provisional designation 2001 KX76.
 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Deep Ecliptic Survey |
| Discovery date | 22 May, 2001 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 28978 Ixion |
| 2001 KX76 | |
| TNO (plutino) | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 December, 2006 (JD 2 454 100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 7 370.503 Gm (49.269 AU) |
| Perihelion | 4 501.495 Gm (30.091 AU) |
| 5 935.999 Gm (39.680 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.242 |
| 91 295.847 d (249.95 a) | |
Average orbital speed | 4.66 km/s |
| 268.546° | |
| Inclination | 19.584° |
| 71.028° | |
| 298.779° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | ~650+260 −220 < 822 km diameter |
| < 2.24×106 km² | |
| Volume | < 3.15×108 km³ |
| Mass | ≈3×1020? kg |
Mean density | 2.0? g/cm³ |
| < 0.229 7? m/s² | |
| < 0.434 6? km/s | |
| ? d | |
| Albedo | 0.15-0.37 |
| Temperature | ≈44 K |
Spectral type | (moderately red; B-V=1.03, V-R=0.61) |
| 19.6 (opposition) | |
| 3.2 | |
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References
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