| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. S. Shoemaker E. M. Shoemaker |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 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 arc | 41.88 yr (15,298 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8486AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8213 AU |
| 2.3349 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2200 |
| 3.57yr (1,303 days) | |
| 275.98° | |
| 0° 16m 34.32s / day | |
| Inclination | 23.707° |
| 302.17° | |
| 229.79° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.47±0.47 km[5] 4.42±0.83 km[6] 4.60 km(calculated)[3] |
| 9.65±0.06h[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] | |
52266 Van Flandern (provisional designation1986 AD) is a stony Phocaeaasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1986, by American astronomersCarolyn andEugene Shoemaker at thePalomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was later named for American astronomerTom Van Flandern.[2]
Van Flandern is a member of thePhocaea family (701),[4] a family ofstony asteroids with similar orbital characteristics. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,303 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.22 and aninclination of 24° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins 11 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification as1975 CJ at theKarl Schwarzschild Observatory in February 1975.[2]
Van Flandern has been characterized as a commonS-type asteroid byPan-STARRS photometric survey.[11]
In January and February 2011, four rotationallightcurves of Van Flandern were obtained from photometric observations at the Via Capote Observatory (G69), thePalomar Transient Factory, and the Australian Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09), as well as by astronomerRené Roy at his Blauvac Observatory (627) in France. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period between 9.65 and 9.89 hours with a brightness variation between 0.52 and 0.61magnitude (U=3/2/3/2+).[7][8][9][10]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Van Flandern measures 3.47 and 4.42 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.30 and 0.249, respectively.[5][6]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from25 Phocaea, the family's most massive member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 4.6 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.9.[1]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of American astronomerTom Van Flandern (1940–2009), expert inlunar occultations and on the dynamics ofbinary minor planets atUSNO in the 1970s.[2]
Van Flandern also participated in the refinement of theGlobal Positioning System and published theMeta Research Bulletin for non-mainstream views oncosmology.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 9 February 2009 (M.P.C. 65123).[12]
