298 Baptistina
 Asteroid 298 Baptistina (apparent magnitude 15.2) near a mag 15.3 star. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Auguste Charlois |
| Discovery date | September 9, 1890 |
| Designations | |
| Main belt, Baptistina family | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5) | |
| Aphelion | 2.481 AU (371.081 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.047 AU (306.285 Gm) |
| 2.264 AU (338.683 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.096 |
| 3.41 a (1244.205 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 19.8 km/s |
| 74.903° | |
| Inclination | 6.285° |
| 8.346° | |
| 134.492° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 13–30 km[1][2] |
| 16.23±0.02 hours[2] | |
Spectral type | X-type |
| 11.0 | |
298 Baptistina is an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It is the namesake of the Baptistina family. It was discovered on September 9, 1890, by Auguste Charlois of Nice. The source of its name is unknown.[3] It measures somewhere around 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.[4] 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 in 2011. (See Baptistina family.)
References
- ^ 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, accepted for publication in the JRASC
- ^ Lutz D. Schmadel, Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, p.41.
- ^ M. Florczak et al. A Visible Spectroscopic Survey of the Flora Clan, Icarus Vol. 133, p. 233 (1998)
