177P/Barnard
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Edward Emerson Barnard |
| Discovery date | June 24, 1889 |
| Designations | |
| 177P/1889 M1; 1889 III; 1889c; 177P/2006 M3 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | August 13, 2006 (JD 2453960.5) |
| Aphelion | 47.232 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.1077 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 24.170 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.95416 |
| Orbital period | 118.83 a |
| Inclination | 31.161° |
| Last perihelion | August 28 2006 |
| Next perihelion | April 13 2127[1] |
Comet 177P/Barnard, also known as Barnard 2, is a periodic comet in the solar system.
The comet, also designated P/2006 M3, discovered by Edward Emerson Barnard on June 24 1889, and was re-discovered after 116 years.[2] On July 19 2006, 177P came within 0.36 AU of the Earth.[3] From late July through September of 2006 it was brighter than expected at 8th magnitude in the constellations Hercules and then Draco. Perihelion was August 28 2006.
Of Barnard's other two periodic comets, the first, D/1884 O1 (Barnard 1) was last seen on November 20, 1884 and is thought to have disintegrated. The last, D/1892 T1 (Barnard 3) marked the beginning of a new era in cometary astronomy, as it was the first to be discovered by photography. It was last seen on December 8, 1892, and recovered on october 7 2008 by Andrea Boattini.
References
- ^ Yeomans, Donald K. "Horizon Online Ephemeris System". California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
- ^ Naoyuki Kurita. "Comet Barnard 2 on Aug 4, 2006". Stellar Scenes. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- ^ "177P/Barnard". Kazuo Kinoshita. 2006-11-18. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris
- 177P at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography