2518 Rutllant

2518 Rutllant, provisional designation 1974 FG, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Chilean astronomer Carlos Torres at the Cerro El Roble Station of the National Astronomical Observatory in Chile, on 22 March 1974, and named for astronomer Federico Alcina.[2][8]

2518 Rutllant
Discovery [1]
Discovered byC. Torres
Discovery siteCerro El Roble Stn.
Discovery date22 March 1974
Designations
(2518) Rutllant
Named after
Federico Alcina (astronomer)[2]
1974 FG · 1974 HU
1978 NA3
main-belt · Flora [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc62.51 yr (22,832 days)
Aphelion2.7078 AU
Perihelion1.9098 AU
2.3088 AU
Eccentricity0.1728
3.51 yr (1,281 days)
95.275°
0° 16m 51.6s / day
Inclination5.9261°
205.58°
38.729°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions3.162±0.211 km[4][5]
5.93 km (calculated)[3]
3.651±0.001 h[6]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
0.771±0.049[4][5]
S [3]
13.3[1][3] · 13.4[4] · 13.69±0.32[7]

    Orbit and classification

    Rutllant is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,281 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] A first precovery was taken at Goethe Link Observatory in 1954, extending the body's observation arc by 20 years prior to its official discovery observation at Cerro El Roble.[8]

    Physical characteristics

    Rutllant has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid.[3]

    Rotational lightcurve

    A rotational lightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory (716), Colorado, in October 2010. The lightcurve gave a well-defined period of 3.651 hours with a relatively low brightness variation of 0.12 in magnitude (U=3).[6]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid has an outstandingly high albedo of 0.77 with a diameter of 3.2 kilometer,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes an albedo of 0.24, derived from the Flora family's largest member and namesake, the asteroid 8 Flora. Consequently, CALL calculates a much larger diameter of 5.9 kilometer, as the lower the albedo (reflectivity), the larger the body's diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[3]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named in memory of Spanish-born astronomer Federico Alcina (1904–1971), director of the Chilean National Astronomical Observatory (OAN), and professor of mathematics at Federico Santa María Technical University.[2]

    Alcina was instrumental for the development of Chilean astronomy, and responsible for a number of critical agreements and decisions, such as moving OAN from Lo Espejo to its current location, for the installment of the Maipú Radio Observatory upon an agreement with UF, for another agreement with UChicago, University of Texas, and later AURA — that resulted in the setup of the CTIO, as well as for an agreement with the former Soviet Academy of Sciences that lead to the building of the Cerro El Roble Station, where this minor planet was discovered.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 March 1986 (M.P.C. 10545).[9]

    gollark: I was going to say something about left/right hand rules but I think that just depends on sign conventions for the fields.
    gollark: I'm pretty sure vector cross products have handedness. And they turn up in physics.
    gollark: The S in IoT stands for security, after all.
    gollark: Everyone knows that more computer implies more good.
    gollark: I'm aware, but that's a "skill issue" and not due to <#471334670483849216> being somehow "down".

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2518 Rutllant (1974 FG)" (2017-04-26 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2518) Rutllant". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2518) Rutllant. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 205–206. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2519. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. "LCDB Data for (2518) Rutllant". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
    4. 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
    5. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
    6. Warner, Brian D. (April 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2010 September-December". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (2): 82–86. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38...82W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
    7. 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 17 May 2016.
    8. "2518 Rutllant (1974 FG)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

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