2518 Rutllant

2518 Rutllant
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. Torres
Discovery site Cerro El Roble
Discovery date 22 March 1974
Designations
MPC designation 2518 Rutllant
Named after
 Federico Alcina
(astronomer)[2]
1974 FG · 1974 HU
1978 NA3
main-belt · Flora [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 61.16 yr (22,337 days)
Aphelion 2.7089 AU
Perihelion 1.9093 AU
2.3091 AU
Eccentricity 0.1731
3.51 yr (1,282 days)
286.77°
0° 16m 50.88s / day
Inclination 5.9242°
205.59°
38.650°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 3.162±0.211 km[4]
5.93 km (calculated)[3]
3.651±0.001 h[5]
0.7709±0.0492[4]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
13.3[1][3]
13.4[4]
13.69±0.32[6]

    2518 Rutllant, provisional designation 1974 FG, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Chilean astronomer Carlos Torres at the Cerro El Roble Station of the National Astronomical Observatory in Chile, on 22 March 1974.[7]

    The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,282 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 6 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic.[1]

    In October 2010, a rotational light-curve observation by American astronomer Brian Warner at the U.S. Palmer Divide Observatory (716), Colorado, rendered a well-defined period of 3.651±0.001 hours with a relatively low brightness variation of 0.12 in magnitude (U=3).[5] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid has an outstandingly high albedo of 0.77 with a diameter of 3.2 kilometer,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes an albedo of 0.24, derived from the Flora family's largest member and namesake, the asteroid 8 Flora. Consequently, CALL calculates a much larger diameter of 5.9 kilometer, as the lower the albedo (reflectivity), the larger the body's diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[3]

    The minor planet was named in memory of Spanish-born astronomer Federico Rutllant Alcina (1904–1971), director of the Chilean National Astronomical Observatory (OAN), and professor of mathematics at Federico Santa María Technical University. He was instrumental for the development of Chilean astronomy, and responsible for a number of critical agreements and decisions, such as moving OAN from Lo Espejo to its current location, for the installment of the Maipú Radio Observatory upon an agreement with UF, for another agreement with UChicago, University of Texas, and later AURA — that resulted in the setup of the CTIO, as well as for an agreement with the former Soviet Academy of Sciences that lead to the building of the Cerro El Roble Station, where this minor planet was discovered.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2518 Rutllant (1974 FG)" (2015-12-18 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved February 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2518) Rutllant. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 205–206. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved February 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (2518) Rutllant". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved February 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved February 2016.
    5. 1 2 Warner, Brian D. (April 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2010 September-December". The Minor Planet Bulletin 38 (2): 82–86. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38...82W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved February 2016.
    6. ↑ 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:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved April 2016.
    7. ↑ "2518 Rutllant (1974 FG)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved February 2016.

    External links


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