65P/Gunn
Appearance
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | James E. Gunn |
Discovery date | October 17, 1970 |
Designations | |
1969 II; 1976 III; 1982 X; 1989 XI; | |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
Aphelion | 4.737 AU |
Perihelion | 2.444 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.59 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.3194 |
Orbital period | 6.803 a |
Inclination | 10.3867° |
Last perihelion | March 2, 2010 May 11, 2003 |
Next perihelion | October 16, 2017[1] |
65P/Gunn is a periodic comet in the solar system which has a current orbital period of 6.79 years.
It was discovered on 11 October 1970 by Professor James E. Gunn of Princeton University using the 122-cm Schmidt telescope at the Palomar Observatory. It had a low brightness of magnitude 16 plus which improves to 12 under favourable conditions.
The comet is a short-period comet, orbiting the Sun every 6.79 years inside the main asteroid belt between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.[2]
On 4 February 1970 the comet passed 0.015 AU (2,200,000 km; 1,400,000 mi) from Ceres.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Syuichi Nakano (2010-06-19). "65P/Gunn (NK 1941)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ "WISE Catches Comet 65P/Gunn". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "JPL Close-Approach Data: 65P/Gunn" (2012-1-25 last obs). Retrieved 2012-02-23.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- 65P at Kronk's Cometography
- 65P/Gunn – Seiichi Yoshida @ aerith.net
- 65P at Las Cumbres Observatory (26 Jun 2010 11:16, 150 seconds)