32P/Comas Solà
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Josep Comas Solà |
| Discovery date | November 5, 1926 |
| Designations | |
| 1944 II; 1952 VII; 1951h; 1961 III; 1960f; 1969 VIII; 1968g; 1978 XVII; 1977n; 1987 XVIII; 1986j; 32P/1926 V1; 1927 III; 1926f; 32P/1935 P1; 1935 IV; 1935c; 32P/1960 VL; 1961 III; 1960f | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 6.692 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.834 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 4.263 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.5699 |
| Orbital period | 8.801 a |
| Inclination | 12.9312° |
| Last perihelion | April 1, 2005 |
| Next perihelion | October 17, 2014 |
32P/Comas Solà is the name of a periodic comet with a current orbital period of 8.8 years.
The comet nucleus is estimated to be 8.4 kilometers in diameter.[1]
Discovery
32P/Comas Solà was discovered November 5, 1926 by Josep Comas Solà. As part of his work on asteroids for the Fabra Observatory (Barcelona), he was taking photographs with a 6-inch (150 mm) telescope. The comet's past orbital evolution became a point of interest as several astronomers suggested early on that the comet might be a return of the then lost periodic comet Spitaler (aka 113P/Spitaler). In 1935 additional positions had been obtained, and P. Ramensky investigated the orbital motion back to 1911. He noted the comet passed very close to Jupiter during May 1912 and that, prior to this approach, the comet had a perihelion distance of 2.15 AU and an orbital period of 9.43 years. The identity with comet Spitaler was thus disproven.
Trivia
The title of the early Tangerine Dream piece "Fly and Collision of Coma[s] Sola", appearing on the Alpha Centauri album (1971), refers to this comet, which at the time was undergoing a moderately close (0.73 AU) approach to Jupiter.
References
- ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 32P/Comas Sola". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 2006-05-30 last obs. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
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External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- Kronk's Cometography: 32P/Comas Solà
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