| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. Arend |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 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 arc | 85.66 yr (31,289 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4797AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9111 AU |
| 2.1954 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1295 |
| 3.25yr (1,188 days) | |
| 224.11° | |
| 0° 18m 10.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.1881° |
| 340.49° | |
| 115.91° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1(D: 4 km[4] · P: 18.2h)[5][6] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 8.484±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±0.0004h[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] | |
1717 Arlon, provisional designation1954 AC, is abinary Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8.5 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 8 January 1954, by Belgian astronomerSylvain Arend at theRoyal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium, and later named for the Belgian town and provincial capital,Arlon.[2][16]
Arlon is a member of theFlora family, a collisional family ofS-type asteroids asteroids, and one of the largest populations of the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,188 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] First identified asA915 CC atSimeiz Observatory in 1915,Arlon's first used observation was taken atLowell Observatory in 1930, when it was identified as1930 YU, extending the body'sobservation arc by 24 years prior to its official discovery observation.[16]
A large number of rotationallightcurves ofArlon were obtained from photometric observations, giving a well-definedrotation period between 5.1477 and 5.1496 hours with a small brightness variation of 0.10 magnitude or less(also see infobox).[3][a]
During one of these photometric observations in 2006, thebinary nature ofArlon was revealed. The discoveredasteroid 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]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Arlon measures between 8.48 and 9.15 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.167 and 0.315.[7][8][11] TheCollaborative 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 anabsolute magnitude of 12.43.[3]
1717 Arlon has been observed tooccult two stars, in 2021 and again in 2023.
Thisminor planet was named for the Belgian town, municipality and provincial capital,Arlon. It is located on a hill above the source of theSemois river. In ancient times, Arlon was known asOrolaunum by the Romans and served as a station on the Antoninian way linking the citiesTrier withReims.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 September 1983 (M.P.C. 8150).[17]
