52266 Van Flandern

52266 Van Flandern
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. S. Shoemaker
E. M. Shoemaker
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 10 January 1986
Designations
MPC designation 52266 Van Flandern
Named after
 Tom Van Flandern
(astronomer)[2]
1986 AD · 1975 CJ
1998 QX81 · 2002 QQ
main-belt · Phocaea [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 41.35 yr (15,104 days)
Aphelion 2.8488 AU
Perihelion 1.8213 AU
2.3351 AU
Eccentricity 0.2200
3.57 yr (1,303 days)
220.76°
0° 16m 34.32s / day
Inclination 23.707°
302.18°
229.76°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 4.42±0.83 km[4]
4.60 km (calculated)[3]
9.65±0.06 h[5]
9.8816±0.0076 h[6]
9.890±0.003 h[7]
9.89±0.01 h[8]
0.23 (assumed)[3]
0.249±0.163[4]
S [3][9]
13.9[1][3][4]
13.908±0.002 (R)[6]
14.10±0.23[9]


    52266 Van Flandern, provisional designation 1986 AD, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 10 January 1986.[2]

    The stony S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,303 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at the German Karl Schwarzschild Observatory in 1975, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 11 years prior to its discovery.[2]

    In January and February 2011, four rotational light-curves were obtained from photometric observations at the Via Capote Observatory in California, the Palomar Transient Factory, and the Australian Oakley Southern Sky Observatory, as well as by astronomer René Roy at Blauvac Observatory, France. The light-curves rendered a well-defined rotation period between 9.65 and 9.89 hours with a brightness variation of 0.58, 0.61, 0.52, and 0.59 in magnitude, respectively (U=3/2/3/2+).[5][6][7][8]

    According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.249,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the family's most massive member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 4.6 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.9.[1]

    The minor planet was named in memory of American astronomer Tom Van Flandern (1940–2009), expert in lunar occultations and on the dynamics of binary minor planets at USNO in the 1970s. Van Flandern also participated in the refinement of the Global Positioning System and published the Meta Research Bulletin for non-mainstream views on cosmology.[2] Naming citation was published on 9 February 2009 (M.P.C. 65123).[10]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)" (2016-06-16 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (52266) Van Flandern". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794Freely accessible. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    5. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (52266) Van Flandern". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    7. 1 2 Ditteon, Richard; West, Josh (October 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Southern Observatory: 2011 January thru April". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (4): 214–217. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38..214D. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    8. 1 2 Brinsfield, James W. (July 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Via Capote Observatory: 1st Quarter 2011". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (3): 154–155. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38..154B. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    9. 1 2 Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    10. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

    External links

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