C/2024 X1 (Fazekas)

Last updated
C/2024 X1 (Fazekas)
Discovery
Discovered by Jacqueline B. Fazekas
Discovery site Mount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date11 December 2024
Designations
CK24X010
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 15 December 2024 (JD 2460659.5)
Observation arc 8 days
Number of
observations
41
Aphelion 15.30 AU
Perihelion 3.814 AU
Semi-major axis 9.557 AU
Eccentricity 0.60096
Orbital period 29.54 years
Inclination 6.450°
352.513°
Argument of
periapsis
123.442°
Longitude of
perihelion
296.087°
Next perihelion30 July 2025
TJupiter 2.697
Earth MOID 2.835 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.354
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
11.2

C/2024 X1 (Fazekas) is a Jupiter-family comet. It was discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey scientist, J. B. Fazekas. [2]

Contents

Discovery

The comet was spotted in the 11 December images taken by 111.5 mpx (10,560 x 10,560 px) CCD mounted at prime focus of 1.5 metres (59 in)f/1.6 Cassegrain reflector (observatory code G96). The object appeared as a 20th magnitude 10-12" blob without tail in the constellation Auriga. [2] [3]

Orbital characteristics

Current calculations suggest it's orbital period is about 29.5 years, classifying it as a Halley-type member. [4] It will reach next perihelion on 30 July 2025, when it will be 3.057 AU (457.3 million km; 284.2 million mi) from the Earth. [4]

References

  1. "C/2024 X1 (Fazekas) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 "MPEC 2024-Y20 : COMET C/2024 X1 (Fazekas)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  3. "Facilities". Catalina Sky Survey. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  4. 1 2 "C/2024 X1 (Fazekas) | astro.vanbuitenen.nl". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 2024-12-23.