Discovered by A. Asami MPC designation 17683 Kanagawa Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 12.7 Discoverer Atsuo Asami | Discovery date 10 January 1997 Alternative names 1997 AR16 · 1999 RE21 Discovered 10 January 1997 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Kanagawa Prefecture
(of Japan) Discovery site Hadano Astronomical Observatory People also search for Sun, 47086 Shinseiko, 13815 Furuya | ||
17683 Kanagawa, provisional designation 1997 AR16, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1997, by Japanese astronomer Atsuo Asami at the Hadano Astronomical Observatory (), located 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, Japan.
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.5–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,882 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic. No precoveries were taken prior to its discovery.
In October 2009, a rotational light-curve was obtained at the Wise Observatory in Israel. The photometric observations rendered a well-defined rotation period of 7000589500000000000♠5.895±0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.4 in magnitude (U=3). According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid has a low albedo between 0.030 and 0.062, and a diameter of 16.8 to 22.1 kilometers. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the results obtained by IRAS and derives an albedo of 0.033 with a diameter of 22.1 kilometers.
The minor planet is named after the Japanese Kanagawa Prefecture, in which the city of Hadano with its discovering observatory is located. Also located in the east of Kanagawa Prefecture, are the industrial cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki, the second and ninth biggest city of the country, respectively, and vital centers of Japan's economy. The discoverer, Atsuo Asami, graduated at Kanagawa University. Naming citation was published on 9 March 2001 (M.P.C. 42365).