210P/Christensen

Last updated
210P/Christensen
SECCHI Makes a Fantastic Recovery - Hi1-B p2003k2 panel.jpg
The recovery image of the comet by STEREO, on 13 December 2008
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Eric J. Christensen
Discovery date26 May 2003
Designations
P/2003 K2, P/2008 X4
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 3 February 2010
Aphelion 5.817 AU
Perihelion 0.534 AU
Semi-major axis 3.176 AU
Eccentricity 0.8317
Orbital period 5.659 years
Inclination 10.217°
93.872°
Argument of
periapsis
345.766°
Last perihelion7 April 2020
Next perihelion22 November 2025 [3]
TJupiter 2.492
Earth MOID 0.170 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.018 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions ≤ 1.74 km [4]
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
14.9 [2]

210P/Christensen is a Jupiter family periodic comet with an orbital period of 5.7 years. It was discovered by Eric J. Christensen on 26 May 2003 in images taken by the Catalina Sky Survey [1] and recovered in images obtained by STEREO, the first time a single-apparition comet was recovered by a spacecraft. [5]

Eric J. Christensen discovered the comet on 26 May 2003 in images taken with the 0.7-m Schmidt telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey. The comet had an estimated magnitude of 14.6 and a coma with an estimated diameter between 10 and 35 arcseconds and a faint tail. [1] Further observations revealed the comet had a short orbital period. [6]

In mid December 2008, Australian comet-hunter Alan Watson spotted in the STEREO/SECCHI Heliospheric Imager ("HI") HI-1B data a cometary object. Veteran German comet hunter Rainer Kracht recorded a few positions of the comet in the data and produced a set of very approximate orbital elements for it. [5] Maik Meyer noticed the similarity of these orbital elements to those of P/2003 K2 and the link was confirmed by Brian Marsden. [5] [7] This was the first recovery by a spacecraft of a single-apparition comet (a comet that had only been observed to pass the Sun once) by a spacecraft. [5] The comet was observed from the ground on 31 November 2008, with an estimated magnitude of 11. [8]

The comet has been locked in a 2:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter for the last 10,000 years and could be of asteroidal origin. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Green, Daniel (27 May 2003). "IAUC 8136: C/2003 K2; 2003ej, 2003ek,, 2003el". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Small-Body Database Lookup: 210P/IRAS". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. "210P/Christensen". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Fernández, Julio A.; Sosa, Andrea (1 December 2015). "Jupiter family comets in near-Earth orbits: Are some of them interlopers from the asteroid belt?". Planetary and Space Science. 118: 14–24. Bibcode:2015P&SS..118...14F. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.07.010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "SECCHI Makes a Fantastic Recovery!". stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. Green, Daniel (7 June 2003). "IAUC 8145: C/2003 L1; P/2003 K2; C/2003 K4". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. Battams, K.; Watson, A.; Kracht, R.; Meyer, M.; Marsden, B. G. (1 December 2008). "Comet P/2008 X4 = P/2003 K2 (Christensen)". International Astronomical Union Circular (9005): 1. Bibcode:2008IAUC.9005....1B. ISSN   0081-0304.
  8. Kadota, K.; Marsden, B. G. (1 January 2009). "Comet P/2008 X4 (Christensen)". International Astronomical Union Circular (9008): 2. Bibcode:2009IAUC.9008....2K. ISSN   0081-0304.
Numbered comets
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211P/Hill