| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. Itzigsohn |
| Discovery site | La Plata Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 September 1950 |
| Designations | |
| (1800) Aguilar | |
Named after | Félix Aguilar(astronomer)[2] |
| 1950 RJ · 1952 BJ 1972 XP2 · 1976 YU7 1977 AE1 | |
| main-belt · Vestian[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 66.54 yr (24,305 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6778AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0362 AU |
| 2.3570 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1361 |
| 3.62yr (1,322 days) | |
| 189.20° | |
| 0° 16m 20.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.7893° |
| 124.24° | |
| 214.46° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.384±0.156 km[4][5] 8.18 km(calculated)[3] |
| 2.478±0.002h[a] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[3] 0.295±0.047[4][5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 12.6[4] · 12.8[1][3] · 13.07±0.05[6] | |
1800 Aguilar, provisional designation1950 RJ, is a stony Vestianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 12 September 1950, by Argentine astronomerMiguel Itzigsohn atLa Plata Astronomical Observatory in Argentina.[7] The asteroid was named after Argentine astronomerFélix Aguilar.[2]
The stonyS-type asteroid is a member of theVesta family. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,322 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.14 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] As noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made,Aguilar'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation.[7]
In September 2008, a rotationallightcurve ofAguilar was obtained from photometric observations taken by Australian amateur astronomerDavid Higgins. It gave a well-definedrotation period of 2.478 hours with a brightness variation of 0.11 inmagnitude (U=3).[a]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Aguilar measures 7.38 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo of 0.295,[4][5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.18 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.8.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for Argentine astronomer Félix Aguilar (1884–1943), former director of the discovering observatory and founder of the University School of Astronomy and Geophysics. He contributed significantly to the development of Argentine astronomy in the first half of the 20th century(also seeFélix Aguilar Observatory).[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3934).[8]
