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103P/Hartley

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103P/Hartley
Discovery
Discovered byMalcolm Hartley
Discovery date15 March, 1986
Orbital characteristics
Perihelion1.03 AU
Semi-major axis3.45
Eccentricity0.699
Orbital period6.41 years
Last perihelion2004
Next perihelion2010

Comet Hartley 2, officially designated 103P/Hartley is a small periodic comet with an orbital period of 6.41 years. It was discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Schmidt Telescope Unit in Siding Spring, Australia. Its estimated diameter is 1.6km.

Hartley 2 is the object of a planned flyby by the Deep Impact spacecraft on October 11, 2010 as part of the EPOXI mission.


Numbered comets
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102P/Shoemaker
103P/Hartley Next
104P/Kowal