53P/Van Biesbroeck is a periodic comet 7 km in diameter.[3] Its current orbital period is 12.53 years.
 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | George Van Biesbroeck |
| Discovery date | September 1, 1954 |
| Designations | |
| 1954 IV; 1966 III; 1978 XXIV; 1991 VI | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 8.375 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.414 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 5.394 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.5526 |
| Orbital period | 12.53 yr |
| Inclination | 6.6094° |
| Last perihelion | April 29, 2016[1] October 9, 2003 |
| Next perihelion | 2028-Dec-24.7[2] |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.009 AU (1,300,000 km) |
The comet was discovered by George Van Biesbroeck of Yerkes Observatory on 1 September 1954 while searching for the asteroid 1953 GC. The comet had an estimated apparent magnitude of 14.5 and appeared well condensed. The comet was then 1.85 AU from Earth and 2.86 AU from the Sun and had passed from its perigee, which took place on 17 August 1954. The comet was followed until 13 November 1955.[4]
This comet and 42P/Neujmin are fragments of a parent comet that split around March 1845.[5][6][7] The orbit of 53P/Van Biesbroeck has a Jupiter Minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of only 0.009 AU (1,300,000 km; 840,000 mi).[3][8] The next perihelion passage is on Christmas Eve 24 December 2028.[2] The comet is expected to brighten to about apparent magnitude 14.
The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 3.33–3.37 kilometers based on observations by Keck.[9]
References
edit- ^ Seiichi Yoshida (2011-07-31). "53P/Van Biesbroeck". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ a b MPC
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 53P/Van Biesbroeck" (last observation: 2017-01-01). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25.
- ^ Kronk, Gary W. (2009). Cometography: a catalog of comets. Vol. 4, 1933-1959. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 458–460. ISBN 9780521585071.
- ^ "IAUC 3940: Sats OF SATURN; PERIODIC COMETS NEUJMIN 3 AND VAN BIESBROECK; Corrs". IAU Circular. 1984-04-25.
- ^ Comets II. Lunar and Planetary Institute, University of Arizona. p. 236, 237, 314.
- ^ Are Comets 42P/Neujmin 3 and 53P/Van Biesbroeck Parts of one Comet? Archived 2008-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: comets and Jupiter MOID < 1 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
- ^ Meech, K.J.; Hainaut, O.R.; Marsden, B.G. (August 2004). "Comet nucleus size distributions from HST and Keck telescopes". Icarus. 170 (2): 463–491. Bibcode:2004Icar..170..463M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.03.014.
External links
edit- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- 53P at Kronk's Cometography
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