52266 Van Flandern

52266 Van Flandern, provisional designation 1986 AD, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1986, by American astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was later named for American astronomer Tom Van Flandern.[2]

52266 Van Flandern
Discovery [1]
Discovered byC. S. Shoemaker
E. M. Shoemaker
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date10 January 1986
Designations
(52266) Van Flandern
Named after
Tom Van Flandern
(American astronomer)[2]
1986 AD · 1975 CJ
1998 QX81 · 2002 QQ
main-belt · Phocaea [3][4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc41.88 yr (15,298 days)
Aphelion2.8486 AU
Perihelion1.8213 AU
2.3349 AU
Eccentricity0.2200
3.57 yr (1,303 days)
275.98°
0° 16m 34.32s / day
Inclination23.707°
302.17°
229.79°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions3.47±0.47 km[5]
4.42±0.83 km[6]
4.60 km (calculated)[3]
9.65±0.06 h[7]
9.8816±0.0076 h[8]
9.89±0.01 h[9]
9.890±0.003 h[10]
0.23 (assumed)[3]
0.249±0.163[6]
0.30±0.09[5]
S [3][11]
13.9[1][3][6] · 13.908±0.002 (R)[8] · 14.10±0.23[11] · 14.31[5]

    Orbit and classification

    Van Flandern is a member of the Phocaea family (701),[4] a family of stony asteroids with similar orbital characteristics. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt 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 asteroid's observation arc begins 11 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification as 1975 CJ at the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory in February 1975.[2]

    Physical characteristics

    Van Flandern has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.[11]

    Lightcurves

    In January and February 2011, four rotational lightcurves of Van Flandern were obtained from photometric observations at the Via Capote Observatory (G69), the Palomar Transient Factory, and the Australian Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09), as well as by astronomer René Roy at his Blauvac Observatory (627) in France. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period between 9.65 and 9.89 hours with a brightness variation between 0.52 and 0.61 magnitude (U=3/2/3/2+).[7][8][9][10]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Van Flandern measures 3.47 and 4.42 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.30 and 0.249, respectively.[5][6]

    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 with an absolute magnitude of 13.9.[1]

    Naming

    This 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.[2]

    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] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 February 2009 (M.P.C. 65123).[12]

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)" (2016-12-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    2. "52266 Van Flandern (1986 AD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    3. "LCDB Data for (52266) Van Flandern". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    4. "Asteroid 52266 Van Flandern – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
    5. Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    6. 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:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    7. Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (52266) Van Flandern". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    8. 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:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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 2 August 2016.
    12. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

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