| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. Arend |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 October 1950 |
| Designations | |
| (1887) Virton | |
Named after | Virton(Belgian town)[2] |
| 1950 TD · 1934 RG 1944 OE · 1950 RG 1950 TQ1 · 1952 BF1 1960 QC · 1970 OA | |
| main-belt · Eos[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 66.44 yr (24,266 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.3481AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6606 AU |
| 3.0043 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1144 |
| 5.21yr (1,902 days) | |
| 295.94° | |
| 0° 11m 21.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.6221° |
| 348.58° | |
| 32.733° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 20.848±0.260[4] 21.40 km(calculated)[3] 22.174±0.605 km[5] 23.43±0.54 km[6] |
| 0.105±0.005[6] 0.1085±0.0158[5] 0.124±0.015[4] 0.14(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 11.1[1][3] · 11.3[5][6] | |
1887 Virton, provisional designation1950 TD, is a stony Eoanasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Belgian astronomerSylvain Arend at theRoyal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle on 5 October 1950, and named after the Belgian town ofVirton.[2][7]
Virton is a member of theEos family. It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,902 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.11 and aninclination of 10° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Uccle, as previous observations atJohannesburg,Crimea-Simeis andTurku Observatory remained unused.[7]
The asteroid has been characterized as a common stonyS-type asteroid.[3]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Virton measures between 20.8 and 23.43 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.105 and 0.124, respectively.[4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.14 and calculates a diameter of 21.4 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.1.[3]
As of 2017,Virton'srotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][3]
Thisminor planet was named after the town and capital district,Virton, in the southernmost part Belgium. It is located very close toRobelmont, Arend's birthplace(also see1145 Robelmonte).[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 September 1983 (M.P.C. 8151).[8]
