C/1980 E1 (Bowell)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Edward L. G. Bowell |
| Discovery date | February 11, 1980 |
| Designations | |
| C/1980 E1 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | February 17, 1982 (JD 2445017.5) |
| Aphelion | N/A |
| Perihelion | 3.3639 AU |
| Semi-major axis | -58.268 AU[1] |
| Eccentricity | 1.057[2] (Hyperbolic trajectory) 1.053 (epoch 1984+)[1] |
| Orbital period | ~7.1 million years (epoch 1950)[1] Ejection (epoch 1977+)[1] |
| Inclination | 1.6617° |
| Last perihelion | March 12, 1982 |
C/1980 E1 is a non-periodic comet discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell on February 11, 1980. C/1980 E1 is leaving the Solar System on a hyperbolic trajectory with a higher velocity than any other natural object ever observed.
Before entering the inner Solar System for a 1982 perihelion passage, C/1980 E1 had a barycentric (epoch 1950-Jan-01) orbit with an apoapsis distance of 74,600 AU (1.17 light-years), and a period of approximately 7.1 million years.[1]
As the comet was approaching perihelion on December 9, 1980, it passed within 0.228 AU of Jupiter,[3] which accelerated the comet briefly giving an (epoch 1981-Jan-09) eccentricity of 1.066.[1] The comet came to perihelion on March 12, 1982.[2] Since the epoch of 1977-Mar-02, C/1980 E1 has had a barycentric eccentricity greater than 1,[1] keeping it on a hyperbolic trajectory that will eject it from the Solar System.
By May 1995, the comet was 30AU from the Sun on an ejection trajectory going 8.6 km/s (19,000 mph). Since February 2008, the comet has been more than 50 AU from the Sun.[4]
The production of OH was observed pre-perihelion while the comet was nearly 5AU from the Sun.[5] CN was not detected until the comet was near perihelion. The comet nucleus was estimated to be have a radius of several kilometers. The surface crust was probably a few meters thick.
References and footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/1980 E1". Retrieved 2011-03-09. (Solution using the Solar System Barycenter and barycentric coordinates. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: C/1980 E1 (Bowell)". 1986-12-02 last obs. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "JPL Close-Approach Data: C/1980 E1 (Bowell)". 1986-12-02 last obs. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Yeomans, Donald K.; Chamberlin, Alan B. "Horizons Ephemeris". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ahearn, Michael F.; Schleicher, D. G.; Millis, R. L.; Feldman, P. D.; Thompson, D. T. (1984). "Comet Bowell 1980b". Astronomical Journal. 89: 579–591. Bibcode:1984AJ.....89..579A. doi:10.1086/113552.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
.png)
 | This comet-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |