(48268) Comitini Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 January 2002 by Asiago-DLR Asteroid Survey at Cima Ekar.
Comitini is a small Italian municipality in Sicily which was famous in the 19th century for its sulfur mines. Nobel Prize literature laureate Luigi Pirandello spent part of his youth in Comitini where his parents owned a sulfur mine.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #11, 12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Comitini is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Comitini is 2.14 au from the Sun and 1.79 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 48268 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 AK1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 4.25 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.0 |
| Orbital period | 4.32 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.65 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.14 – 3.16 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.192 |
| Inclination | 14.3° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.14 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 4 January 2002
- (89734) Orsoperuzzi
- (89735) Tommei
- (95008) Ivanobertini
- (99388) Londialdo
- (126160) Fabienkuntz
- (126161) Piazzano
- (194837) Paolomasetti