6P/d'Arrest

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6P/d'Arrest
6Pd'ArrestZTF.png
Comet d'Arrest photographed by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 21 September 2021
Discovery
Discovered by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
Discovery site Leipzig, Germany
Discovery dateJune 28, 1851
Designations
  • C/1678 R1, P/1851 M1
  • P/1857 X1
  • 1910c, 1923b, 1950a
  • 1963f, 1970d, 1976e
  • 1982e, 1987k [1]
Orbital characteristics [2] [3]
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Observation arc 344 years
Earliest precovery dateSeptember 11, 1678 [4]
Number of
observations		3,732
Aphelion 5.639 AU
Perihelion 1.353 AU
Semi-major axis 3.497 AU
Eccentricity 0.61247
Orbital period 6.539 years
Inclination 19.511°
138.94°
Argument of
periapsis 		178.09°
Mean anomaly 79.175°
Last perihelionSeptember 17, 2021
Next perihelionMarch 31, 2028 [5] [6]
TJupiter 2.709
Earth MOID 0.343 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.208 AU
Physical characteristics [2] [7]
Mean diameter
3.2 km (2.0 mi)
6.67±0.03 hours
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		15.9

6P/d'Arrest (also known as d'Arrest's Comet or Comet d'Arrest) is a periodic comet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter once every 6.54 years. It is the second of three comets discovered by German astronomer, Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest. [a]

Contents

Observational history

It was first observed by Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest, in Leipzig, Germany, between June 28–30, 1851. [10] In 1991, a study conducted by Andrea Carusi and Giovanni B. Valsecchi (Istituto Astrofisica Spaziale, Rome), alongside Ľubor Kresák and Margita Kresáková (Slovak Astronomical Institute, Bratislava) independently suggested that this comet is the same as the comet previously observed by Philippe de La Hire in 1678. [4] [11]

The comet passed within 0.151 AU (22.6 million km; 14.0 million mi) from Earth on August 12, 1976. [2] Its apparition in 2015 was unfavorable as it had a solar elongation of less than 30 degrees from October 2014 until May 2015. [12] The most recent perihelion passage took place on September 17, 2021, when the comet had a solar elongation of 95 degrees at approximately apparent magnitude of 10. [13]

Physical characteristics

Guring its 2008 apparition, infrared spectroscopy conducted at the Keck Observatory has detected emissions of H
2O, CH
3OH, C
2H
6, H
2CO and NH
3 from its coma, where the latter three gases were found to be relatively depleted compared to other comets. [14]

The comet nucleus is estimated at 3.2 km (2.0 mi) in diameter. [2] Photometric measurements in 1976 revealed a rotation period of around 5.17±0.01 hours, [15] however this was revised after a periodogram analysis of its lightcurve in 2003 suggests that the comet has a longer rotation period, around 6.67±0.03 hours. [7]

Exploration

Long-exposure image of Comet d'Arrest taken by Elizabeth Roemer on 7 May 1970 6p d'Arrest.jpg
Long-exposure image of Comet d'Arrest taken by Elizabeth Roemer on 7 May 1970

A study in 1966 proposed a Mariner-type mission to 6P/d'Arrest planned to be launched from an Atlas-Centaur by April 1976, arriving at the comet at a distance of 100,000 km (62,000 mi) about 115–145 days after launch, however this did not come to fruition. [16] [17]

6P/d was one of a trio of comets alongside 2P/Encke and 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann targeted by the ill-fated CONTOUR mission, [18] which was launched but lost contact soon after reaching orbit in 2002. Had it been functional, the planned date for CONTOUR's flyby of d'Arrest would have been 2008, after visiting two other comets. [19]

Around 2007, 6P/d was one of nine comets examined for a preliminary comet sample return mission study. [20] By the 2010s, three comet surface sample return missions (CONDOR, CORSAIR, and CAESAR) were selected as finalists for the New Frontiers Program, but the recently studied 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and 88P/Howell were chosen as the selected targets. These proposals were ultimately not selected in favor of the Dragonfly mission to Titan.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ In addition to 6P, Heinrich d'Arrest also discovered the comets C/1844 Y2 [8] and C/1857 D1 [9]

Citations

  1. ↑ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "6P/d'Arrest – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ "6P/d'Arrest Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  4. 1 2 A. Carusi; G. B. Valesecchi; L. Kresak; M. Kresakova (1991). "Observations of Periodic Comet d'Arrest in 1678 and implications for its evolutionary history". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 252 (1): 377–384. Bibcode:1991A&A...252..377C. ISSN   0004-6361. S2CID   118960268.
  5. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 6P/d'Arrest (90000144) on 2028-Mar-31" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons . Retrieved June 15, 2022. (JPL#K212/12 Soln.date: 2022-Jun-08)
  6. ↑ Kinoshita, Kazuo (July 30, 2016). "6P/d'Arrest past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 P. J. Gutiérrez; J. de León; L. Jorda; et al. (2003). "New spin period determination for comet 6P/d'Arrest". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 407 (2): 37–40. Bibcode:2003A&A...407L..37G. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20031066 . S2CID   55635900.
  8. ↑ "C/1844 Y2 (d'Arrest) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ "C/1857 D1 (d'Arrest) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ G. W. Kronk. "6P/d'Arrest". Cometography.com. Retrieved June 7, 2006.
  11. ↑ A. Carusi; G. B. Valesecchi; L. Kresak; M. Kresakova; G. Sitarski (June 6, 1990). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Periodic Comet d'Arrest = Comet la Hire (1678)". IAU Circular. 5283 (1). Bibcode:1990IAUC.5283....1C.
  12. ↑ "Elements and Ephemeris for 6P/d'Arrest". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014. (0006P)
  13. ↑ S. Yoshida (March 16, 2014). "6P/d'Arrest". www.aerith.net. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  14. ↑ N. Dello Russo; R. J. Vervack Jr.; H. A. Weaver; H. Kawakita; et al. (2009). "The Parent Volatile Composition of 6P/d'Arrest and a Chemical Comparison of Jupiter-Family Comets Measured at Infrared Wavelengths". The Astrophysical Journal. 703 (1): 187–197. Bibcode:2009ApJ...703..187D. doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/703/1/187 . S2CID   122937365.
  15. ↑ T. D. Fay Jr.; W. Wisniewski (1978). "The light curve of the nucleus of comet d'Arrest". Icarus. 34 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(78)90119-7. S2CID   124819075.
  16. ↑ T. J. Kreiter (1966). "Intercept missions to asteroid Eros in 1974 and comet d'Arrest in 1976" (PDF). NASA Technical Memorandum. S2CID   119055749. NASA TM X-1288.
  17. ↑ D. S. F. Portree (April 22, 2013). "Missions to Comet d'Arrest & Asteroid Eros in the 1970s (1966)". Wired. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  18. ↑ G. C. Sanzovo; A. A. de Almeida; A. Misra; et al. (2001). "Mass-loss rates, dust particle sizes, nuclear active areas and minimum nuclear radii of target comets for missions STARDUST and CONTOUR". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 326 (3): 852–868. Bibcode:2001MNRAS.326..852S. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04443.x . S2CID   119951312.
  19. ↑ D. Tytell (July 23, 2003). "CONTOUR: Missing in Action". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  20. ↑ H. A. Weaver; M. F. A’Hearn; G. Fountain (2007). "Comet Surface Sample Return" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
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