C/1989 X1 (Austin)

1989_C1 (Comet Austin)

Discovery
Discovered by	Rodney Austin December 6, 1989
Orbital characteristics
Perihelion	0.3497735 AU time of perihelion: April 9, 1990 argument of perihelion=61.56934°
Eccentricity	1.0002278
Inclination	58.95559° long. of ascending node=75.22965°

When Comet Austin was discovered by New Zealand amateur Rodney R.D. Austin on December 6, 1989, it was already obvious that it must be an unusually large object. At that time the comet was still more than 350 million kilometres from the Sun and yet it was so bright that it was seen as an 11th magnitude object (that is, 100 times fainter than what can be perceived with the unaided eye).

More observations were soon made, establishing the comet's orbit and it was found that it will pass through its perihelion (the point of its orbit where it is closest to the Sun) on April 9, at a distance of about 53 million kilometres, inside the orbit of Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun.

Thereafter it will move outwards again and, by good luck, it will come within 38 million kilometres of the Earth on May 25. It will be well situated in the sky for observation from the northern hemisphere after April 20, when it can be seen low above the NW horizon, just after sunset, and even better above the NE horizon, shortly before sunrise. It is expected that Comet Austin will then have developed a tail which should be easily observable and provide spectators with a grand celestial view.

External links

• Comet Austin 1989c1: What went wrong?
• Austin
• Rodney Austin's comet-hunting career