172P/Yeung

172P/Yeung

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	Bill Yeung
Discovery site	Apache Point Observatory
Discovery date	21 January 2002
Designations
MPC designation	P/2001 CB40 P/2002 BV
Alternative designations	PK02B00V [2]
Orbital characteristics [3] [4]
Epoch	21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc	31.62 years
Earliest precovery date	20 October 1993
Number of observations	797
Aphelion	5.091 AU
Perihelion	3.358 AU
Semi-major axis	4.225 AU
Eccentricity	0.20507
Orbital period	8.683 years
Inclination	11.222°
Longitude of ascending node	30.881°
Argument of periapsis	208.87°
Mean anomaly	2.114°
Last perihelion	2 November 2025
Next perihelion	2034
TJupiter	2.958
Earth MOID	2.232 AU
Jupiter MOID	0.082 AU
Physical characteristics [3]
Mean radius	5.6 km (3.5 mi) [5]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	14.8

172P/Yeung is a Jupiter-family comet with a 6.59-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first of two comets discovered by Hong Kong/Canadian astronomer, William Kwong Yu Yeung. ^[a]

Observational history

It was initially thought as an apparently asteroid-like object from CCD images taken by Bill Yeung from the Apache Point Observatory on the night of 21 January 2002. ^[6] Additional reports from the Minor Planet Center later identified that this comet is the same object as 2001 CB₄₀, ^[1] with precovery images dating as early as 20 October 1993. ^[4] This relatively long observation arc for a newly discovered comet allowed it to receive a permanent numerical designation from the MPC as 172P. ^[7]

Physical characteristics

Infrared observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2006 and 2007 revealed that the nucleus of 172P/Yeung is about 5.6 km (3.5 mi) in radius. ^[5]

Notes

1. Bill Yeung later co-discovered C/2015 VL₆₂ (Lemmon–Yeung–PanSTARRS) in 2015

References

1. T. Spahr; M. Calkins (9 May 2002). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2002 BV = P/2001 CB₄₀ (Yeung)". IAU Circular. 7896 (1). Bibcode:2002IAUC.7896....1S.
2. W. K. Y. Yeung (2002). "The accidental discovery of Apollo asteroid 2002BJ2 and periodic comet P/2002 BV (Yeung)" (TXT). comethunter.de. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
3. "172P/Yeung – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
4. "172P/Yeung Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 9 April 2017.
5. Y. R. Fernández; M. S. P. Kelley; P. L. Lamy; et al. (2013). "Thermal properties, sizes, and size distribution of Jupiter-family cometary nuclei". Icarus. 226 (1): 1138–1170. arXiv: 1307.6191 . Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1138F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.021.
6. "2002 Comet Awards Announced". SpaceNews.com (Press release). 1 July 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
7. D. W. Green (29 September 2005). "Comets 171P/Spahr and 172P/Yeung". IAU Circular. 8605 (3). Bibcode:2005IAUC.8605....3G.

External links

• 172P/Yeung at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach  · Discovery  · Ephemeris  · Orbit viewer  · Orbit parameters  · Physical parameters
• 172P/Yeung at Seiichi Yoshida's website
• 172P/Yeung on Gary W. Kronk's Cometography

Numbered comets
Previous 171P/Spahr	172P/Yeung	Next 173P/Mueller