C/1907 L2 (Daniel)

C/1907 L2 (Daniel)

Daniel's Comet photographed by Max Wolf on 4 August 1907 [1]
Discovery
Discovered by	Zaccheus Daniel
Discovery site	Princeton, New Jersey
Discovery date	10 June 1907
Designations
Alternative designations	1907d [2] 1907 IV
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch	27 September 1907 (JD 2417845.5)
Observation arc	344 days
Number of observations	173
Aphelion	830.60 AU
Perihelion	0.512 AU
Semi-major axis	415.55 AU
Eccentricity	0.99877
Orbital period	~8,470 years (inbound) ~5,220 years (outbound)
Inclination	8.958°
Longitude of ascending node	144.27°
Argument of periapsis	294.47°
Last perihelion	4 September 1907
TJupiter	0.889
Earth MOID	0.058 AU
Jupiter MOID	0.417 AU
Physical characteristics [4]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	3.7
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	7.2
Apparent magnitude	2.6 (1907 apparition)

Daniel's Comet, formally known as C/1907 L2, is a non-periodic comet that became visible in the naked eye in 1907. It was the first of three comets discovered by American astronomer, Zaccheus Daniel.

Discovery and observations

The comet was discovered by Zaccheus Daniel using a 15 cm (5.9 in) comet-seeker on the dawn of 10 June 1907, however its nature as a comet wasn't confirmed until two days later by William Robert Brooks. ^[4] At the time, the object was located within the constellation Pisces. ^[a]

The comet rapidly brightened as it slowly approached the Earth, and was closest at 0.757 AU (113.2 million km) on 2 August 1907. ^[4] Edward E. Barnard made a series of photographic observations of the comet between 11 July and 8 September 1907, where he described the comet being visible to the naked eye for two months. ^[5] At the same time, Edward C. Pickering also made several photographic observations between 12 July and 4 August 1907. ^[6] J. Charles Duncan noted that the comet had reached magnitude 3.0 on 24 July 1907. ^[7] Across the Atlantic, Max Wolf made extensive observations of the comet until 27 August. ^{[1] [8]}

It was last observed from the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver, Colorado, on the early morning of 30 June 1908. ^[4]

References

Notes

1. Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 23^h 48.6^m, δ = –1° 08′ ^[4]

Citations

1. M. Wolf (1908). "Photographien und Zeichnungen des Kometen 1907d (Daniel)" [Photographs and drawings of the Comet 1907d (Daniel)](PDF). Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften[Proceedings of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences] (in German). 23 (7): 439–443. doi: 10.11588/diglit.19637 .
2. "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
3. "C/1907 L2 (Daniel) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 24 November 2023.
4. G. W. Kronk (2007). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 3: 1900–1932. Cambridge University Press. pp. 110–119. ISBN   978-0-521-58506-4.
5. E. E. Barnard (1910). "Photographic Observations of Daniel's Comet" (PDF). Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 49 (194): 3–16. Bibcode:1910PAPhS..49....3B. JSTOR   983986 .
6. E. C. Pickering (1908). "Photographs of Daniel's Comet, (1907d)". Harvard College Observatory Circular. 144: 2–3. Bibcode:1908HarCi.144R...2P.
7. J. C. Duncan (1907). "Note on Comet d 1907 (Daniel)" (PDF). Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 19 (115): 195–196. JSTOR   40692857 .
8. M. Wolf (1908). "Photographs of Comet d, 1907 (Daniel): Plate 6" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 68 (3): 180–181. doi: 10.1093/mnras/68.3.180 .

External links

• C/1907 L2 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach  · Discovery  · Ephemeris  · Orbit viewer  · Orbit parameters  · Physical parameters