64P/Swift–Gehrels
 Comet Swift–Gehrels photographed by Alexander Vasenin from Moscow, Russia on 11 October 2018 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Lewis A. Swift Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery date | 17 November 1889 8 February 1973 |
| Designations | |
| P/1889 W1 P/1973 C1 | |
| Swift 1 1889f, 1973d, 1981j, 1991c 1889 VI, 1972 VII, 1981 XIX, 1991 II[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch | 9 December 2017 (JD 2458096.5) |
| Observation arc | 6,707 days (18.36 years) |
| Number of observations | 3,436 |
| Aphelion | 7.518 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.393 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 4.456 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.687 |
| Orbital period | 9.407 years |
| Inclination | 8.948° |
| 300.00° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 97.144° |
| Last perihelion | 3 November 2018 |
| Next perihelion | 31 March 2028[2] |
| TJupiter | 2.496 |
| Earth MOID | 0.4401 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.6491 AU |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
| Dimensions | 3.2 km (2.0 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 14.5 |
| 9.0 (2018 apparition) | |
64P/Swift–Gehrels is a periodic comet in the Solar System which has a current orbital period of 9.23 years.
Observational history
[edit]It was originally discovered on 17 November 1889 by Lewis A. Swift at the Warner Observatory, Rochester, New York, and was described by Swift as being pretty faint. It was rediscovered after it became a lost comet on 8 February 1973 by Tom Gehrels at the Palomar Observatory, California who estimated its brightness as a very low magnitude 19.[4]
It was also observed in 1981, 1991, 2000, 2009 and 2018. The 2018 apparition was the most favourable, with the comet reaching a peak magnitude of 9. It had its closest approach to the Earth on 28 October 2018, at a distance of 0.445 au.[5] The comet had four outbursts. The brightest was on August 14, during which the comet brightened 2.7 magnitudes.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ S. Yoshida. "64P/Swift–Gehrels". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ a b "64P/Swift–Gehrels – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ G. W. Kronk. "64P/Swift–Gehrels". Cometography.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ N. Biver; D. Bockelée-Morvan; D. C. Lis; D. Despois; R. Moreno; et al. (2021). "Molecular composition of short-period comets from millimetre-wave spectroscopy: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák, and 64P/Swift-Gehrels" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 651: A25. Bibcode:2021A&A...651A..25B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140765. S2CID 236361791.
- ^ M. S. P. Kelley; D. Bodewits; Q. Ye; T. Ahumada; J. Cromer; et al. (2019). "Outbursts at Comets 46P/Wirtanen, 64P/Swift-Gehrels, and 78P/Gehrels 2 in 2018". Research Notes of the AAS. 3 (9): 126. Bibcode:2019RNAAS...3..126K. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ab3fb4. ISSN 2515-5172. S2CID 203040145.
External links
[edit]
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