Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Jean Chacornac |
Discovery site | Marseille, France |
Discovery date | 16 May 1852 |
Designations | |
1852 II [1] | |
Orbital characteristics [2] | |
Epoch | 20 April 1852 (JD 2397598.5873) |
Observation arc | 28 days |
Earliest precovery date | 7 May 1852 |
Number of observations | 31 |
Perihelion | 0.905 AU |
Eccentricity | ~1.000 |
Inclination | 131.12° |
319.27° | |
Argument of periapsis | 37.206° |
Last perihelion | 20 April 1852 |
Earth MOID | 0.012 AU [3] |
Physical characteristics [4] | |
9.8 (1852 apparition) |
Chacornac's Comet, formally designated as C/1852 K1, is a faint parabolic comet that was observed through telescopes between May and June 1852. It is the only comet discovered by French astronomer Jean Chacornac, and is the parent body of the Eta Eridanids meteor shower. [5] [a]
Jean Chacornac made his only comet discovery from the Marseille Observatory on 16 May 1852, where he spotted a "faint, diffuse object" without a discernible tail nor nucleus in the constellation Cepheus. [b] He later confirmed his discovery the following day. [4]