1918 Aiguillon provisional designation 1968 UA, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter.
Discovery[1] | |
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Discovered by | G. Soulié |
Discovery site | Bordeaux Obs. |
Discovery date | 19 October 1968 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (1918) Aiguillon |
Named after | Aiguillon (French town)[2] |
Alternative designations | 1968 UA |
Minor planet category | main-belt · (outer) |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 62.93 yr (22,985 days) |
Aphelion | 3.6118 AU |
Perihelion | 2.7755 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.1936 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.1309 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 5.71 yr (2,085 days) |
Mean anomaly | 145.64° |
Inclination | 9.1961° |
Longitude of ascending node | 195.12° |
Argument of perihelion | 245.30° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 19.536±0.090 km[3] 20±8 km (generic)[4] |
Geometric albedo | 0.062±0.012[3] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.7[1] |
It was discovered by French astronomer Guy Soulié at Bordeaux Observatory, France, on 19 October 1968.[5] The asteroid was named for the French town of Aiguillon.[2]
Aiguillon orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,085 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first observation was a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in 1954, extending the body's observation arc by 14 years prior to its official discovery observation.[5]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Aiguillon measures 19.5 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.062.[3]
Based on a generic magnitude-diameter conversion, the body measures between 12 and 28 kilometers, for an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25 and an absolute magnitude of 11.7.[4] As of 2017, Aiguillon's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.[6]
This minor planet was named for the discoverer's birthplace, Aiguillon, a small town on the Garonne river in France.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 December 1979 (M.P.C. 5038).[7]
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