266P/Christensen

For other comets of the same name, see Comet Christensen.

266P/Christensen

Discovery
Discovered by	Eric J. Christensen
Discovery date	October 27, 2006
Designations
Alternative designations	2006 U5
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	2020-04-21.0
Aphelion	4.736 AU
Perihelion	2.335 AU
Semi-major axis	3.535 AU
Eccentricity	0.339
Orbital period	6.65 a
Inclination	3.426°
Last perihelion	2020-04-19 [1] [2] 2013-08-31
Next perihelion	2026-Dec-07 (JPL Horizons last obs 2020-04-16)

266P/Christensen is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It will next come to perihelion in December 2026. It has been suggested as the source of the 1977 "Wow! Signal". ^[3]

References

1. "266P/Christensen Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 2017-06-08.
2. Syuichi Nakano (2014-02-27). "266P/Christensen (NK 2619)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
3. Paris, Antonio (Winter 2015). "Hydrogen Clouds from Comets 266/P Christensen and P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs) are Candidates for the Source of the 1977 "WOW" Signal" (PDF). Washington Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 7 June 2017.

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 266P on Seiichi Yoshida's comet list
• Elements and Ephemeris for 266P/Christensen ^{[ permanent dead link ]} – Minor Planet Center

Numbered comets
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