Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Lewis A. Swift |
Discovery site | Mount Lowe Obs. |
Discovery date | 24 August 1895 |
Orbital characteristics [2] [3] | |
Epoch | 25 August 1895 (JD 2413430.5) |
Observation arc | 166 days |
Number of observations | 182 |
Aphelion | 6.1609 AU |
Perihelion | 1.2978 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.7293 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.9725 |
Orbital period | 7.2 years |
Inclination | 2.9923° |
171.75° | |
Argument of periapsis | 167.78° |
Last perihelion | 21 August 1895 (observed) 17 February 2019 (calculated) |
Next perihelion | 19 September 2026 (calculated) |
TJupiter | 2.677 |
Physical characteristics [4] | |
13.0 (1895 apparition) |
D/1895 Q1 (Swift) is one of 13 comets discovered by American astronomer, Lewis A. Swift. A Jupiter-family comet, it was last seen in February 1896 and was not observed since. [1]
On September 15, 1967, the Mariner 4 spacecraft encountered a dense "meteor storm" that is more intense than anything seen from Earth for 45 minutes, which may have damaged bits of insulation and temporarily changed the attitude of the spacecraft. [5] [6] What caused it remained a mystery until in 2006, astronomer Paul Wiegert examined old comet data and found that Mariner 4 would have been 20 million km (12 million mi) from the possibly shattered nucleus of D/1895 Q1 (Swift). [1] However, Wiegert noted that the comet's orbit during its 1895 apparition wasn't precisely known, leading to a large potential error in the comet's expected location in 1967.
Mariner 4 was the fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Launched on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. It captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space; their depiction of a cratered, dead planet largely changed the scientific community's view of life on Mars. Other mission objectives were to perform field and particle measurements in interplanetary space in the vicinity of Mars and to provide experience in and knowledge of the engineering capabilities for interplanetary flights of long duration. Initially expected to remain in space for eight months, Mariner 4's mission lasted about three years in solar orbit. On December 21, 1967, communications with Mariner 4 were terminated.
46P/Wirtanen is a small short-period comet with a current orbital period of 5.4 years. It was the original target for close investigation by the Rosetta spacecraft, planned by the European Space Agency, but an inability to meet the launch window caused Rosetta to be sent to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko instead. It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, all of which have aphelia between 5 and 6 AU. Its diameter is estimated at 1.4 kilometres (0.9 mi). In December 2019, astronomers reported capturing an outburst of the comet in substantial detail by the TESS space telescope.
Lewis A. Swift was an American astronomer who discovered 13 comets and 1,248 previously uncatalogued nebulae. Only William Herschel discovered more nebulae visually.
Comet Giacobini–Zinner is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It was discovered by Michel Giacobini, who observed it in the constellation of Aquarius on 20 December 1900. It was recovered two orbits later by Ernst Zinner, while he was observing variable stars near Beta Scuti on 23 October 1913.
The Great Comet of 1882, formally designated as C/1882 R1, 1882 II, and 1882b, was a comet which became very bright in September 1882. It was a member of the Kreutz Sungrazers, a family of comets which pass within 1 R☉ of the Sun's photosphere at perihelion.
8P/Tuttle is a periodic comet with a 13.6-year orbit. It fits the classical definition of a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of less than 20 years, but does not fit the modern definition of. Its last perihelion passage was 27 August 2021 when it had a solar elongation of 26 degrees at approximately apparent magnitude 9. Two weeks later, on September 12, 2021, it was about 1.8 AU (270 million km) from Earth which is about as far from Earth as the comet can get when the comet is near perihelion.
Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock is a long-period comet that, in 1983, made the closest known approach to Earth of any comet in the last 200 years, at a distance of about 0.0312 AU.
C/2007 W1 (Boattini) is a non-periodic comet discovered on 20 November 2007, by Andrea Boattini at the Mt. Lemmon Survey. At the peak the comet had an apparent magnitude around 5.
Comet Howard–Koomen–Michels, also formally known as C/1979 Q1 (Solwind), was a large sungrazing comet that collided with the Sun on August 30, 1979. It is the first comet discovered by an orbiting satellite and the only comet known to have made contact with the Sun's surface, as most bodies vaporize before impact.
Comet Swift–Tuttle is a large periodic comet with a 1995 (osculating) orbital period of 133 years that is in a 1:11 orbital resonance with Jupiter. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet, which has an orbital period between 20 and 200 years. The comet was independently discovered by Lewis Swift on 16 July 1862 and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on 19 July 1862.
C/2013 A1 is an Oort cloud comet discovered on 3 January 2013 by Robert H. McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory using the 0.5-meter (20 in) Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope.
64P/Swift–Gehrels is a periodic comet in the Solar System which has a current orbital period of 9.23 years.
Comet Tucker, formally designated as C/2004 Q1, is a faint non-periodic comet that had a very distant perihelion on 11 December 2004. It was the second of two comets discovered by famed amateur astronomer, Roy A. Tucker.
Palisa's Comet, also known formally as C/1879 Q1 by its modern nomenclature, is a parabolic comet that was barely visible to the naked eye in late 1879. It was the only comet discovered by Austrian astronomer, Johann Palisa.
Comet Mellish, also known formally as C/1915 C1, is one of five comets discovered by American astronomer John E. Mellish. It is a hyperbolic comet that reached perihelion on July 17, 1915. However, just two months earlier, Edward E. Barnard had reported the comet had splitted into three distinct objects in May 12, later increasing to four by May 24. In addition, it is thought that this comet was the parent body of the June Lyrids meteor shower, which was first discovered in 1966.
Comet Donati, formally designated as C/1864 R1, is a parabolic comet discovered in 1864. It was the last of five comets discovered by Italian astronomer, Giovanni Battista Donati. This comet might be the potential parent body of the Gamma Normids meteor shower.
Bond's Comet, formally known as C/1850 Q1, is a parabolic comet that was observed through telescopes throughout late 1850. It was the only comet discovered independently by American astronomer, George Phillips Bond.
C/1739 K1 is a non-periodic comet that was discovered by Italian astronomer Eustachio Zanotti in 1739. It is the parent body of the Leo Minorids meteor shower.
The Great Comet of 390 AD, also known as C/390 Q1 by its modern designation, was a comet that appeared very bright in the night sky. It was recorded prominently in ancient Chinese and Korean texts, particularly the Chén Shū.