1717 Arlon, provisional designation 1954 AC, is a binary Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8.5 kilometers in diameter.

1717 Arlon
Discovery[1]
Discovered byS. Arend
Discovery siteUccle Obs.
Discovery date8 January 1954
Designations
(1717) Arlon
Named after
Arlon (Municipality of Belgium)[2]
1954 AC · 1930 YU
1941 BJ · 1946 UB
1951 GQ · 1954 CE
1977 FQ3 · 1978 PC5
A915 CC
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc85.66 yr (31,289 days)
Aphelion2.4797 AU
Perihelion1.9111 AU
2.1954 AU
Eccentricity0.1295
3.25 yr (1,188 days)
224.11°
0° 18m 10.8s / day
Inclination6.1881°
340.49°
115.91°
Known satellites1(D: 4 km[4] · P: 18.2 h)[5][6]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions8.484±0.183[7]
8.57±0.58 km[8]
8.87±0.74 km[9]
9.128±0.166 km[10]
9.15 km[11]
5.1082±0.0006 h[12]
5.1477±0.00009 h[a]
5.148 h[13]
5.148±0.001 h[6][14]
5.1484±0.0004 h[b]
5.1484 h[5]
5.261±0.005 h[12]
0.167±0.024[8]
0.225[11]
0.2492±0.0420[10]
0.287±0.048[7]
0.315±0.166[9]
Tholen = S[1] · S[3]
11.94±0.08 (R)[b] · 12.09±0.33[15] · 12.13[9] · 12.90[8] · 12.3[1] · 12.33[10] · 12.43±0.094[3][11]

It was discovered on 8 January 1954, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium, and later named for the Belgian town and provincial capital, Arlon.[2][16]

Classification and orbit

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Arlon is a member of the Flora family, a collisional family of S-type asteroids asteroids, and one of the largest populations of the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,188 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] First identified as A915 CC at Simeiz Observatory in 1915, Arlon's first used observation was taken at Lowell Observatory in 1930, when it was identified as 1930 YU, extending the body's observation arc by 24 years prior to its official discovery observation.[16]

Binary system

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Primary

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A large number of rotational lightcurves of Arlon were obtained from photometric observations, giving a well-defined rotation period between 5.1477 and 5.1496 hours with a small brightness variation of 0.10 magnitude or less (also see infobox).[3][a]

Secondary

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During one of these photometric observations in 2006, the binary nature of Arlon was revealed. The discovered asteroid moon orbits its primary once every 18.2 hours, at a distance of 16 kilometers. The moon itself measures approximately 4 kilometers in diameter.[4][5][6]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Arlon measures between 8.48 and 9.15 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.167 and 0.315.[7][8][11] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the revised WISE-results by Pravec, adopting an albedo of 0.225 and a diameter of 9.15 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.43.[3]

1717 Arlon has been observed to occult two stars, in 2021 and again in 2023.

Naming

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This minor planet was named for the Belgian town, municipality and provincial capital, Arlon. It is located on a hill above the source of the Semois river. In ancient times, Arlon was known as Orolaunum by the Romans and served as a station on the Antoninian way linking the cities Trier with Reims.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 September 1983 (M.P.C. 8150).[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Pravec (2011): Pravec (2011): rotation period of 5.14822±0.00009, 5.1496±0.0005 and 5.1477±0.0004 with a corresponding brightness amplitude of 0.07, 0.09 and 0.10 in magnitude. Summary figures at Asteroid Lightcurve Database for (1717) Arlon
  2. ^ a b Pravec (2005): rotation period 5.1484±0.0004 with a brightness amplitude of 0.08. Summary figures for (1717) Arlon at Asteroid Lightcurve Database

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1717 Arlon (1954 AC)" (2016-08-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1717) Arlon". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1717) Arlon. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 136. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1718. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (1717) Arlon". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b Wm. Robert Johnston (13 October 2006). "(1717) Arlon". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Cooney, W.; Gross, J.; Terrell, D.; Stephens, R.; Pravec, P.; Kusnirak, P.; et al. (January 2006). "(1717) Arlon". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 369 (369): 1. Bibcode:2006CBET..369....1C. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Brinsfield, James W. (April 2009). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Via Capote Observatory: 2008 4th Quarter". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 36 (2): 64–66. Bibcode:2009MPBu...36...64B. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  9. ^ a b c 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 22 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b c 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.
  11. ^ a b c d Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1717) Arlon". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  13. ^ Cooney, W.; Gross, J.; Terrell, D.; Pravec, P.; Kusnirak, P.; Pray, D.; et al. (May 2006). "(1717) Arlon". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 504 (504): 1. Bibcode:2006CBET..504....1C. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  14. ^ Oey, Julian (October 2014). "Lightcurve Analysis of Asteroids from Blue Mountains Observatory in 2013". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (4): 276–281. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..276O. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  15. ^ 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 22 December 2016.
  16. ^ a b "1717 Arlon (1954 AC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  17. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
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