50P/Arend

50P/Arend
Discovery
Discovered by Sylvian Arend
Discovery date October 4, 1951[1]
Alternative
designations		 1951 Q4, 1959 O4
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch 2009-Mar-01
Aphelion 6.2531 AU
Perihelion 1.9237 AU[2]
Semi-major axis 4.0884 AU
Eccentricity 0.52947
Orbital period 8.27 a
Inclination 19.158°
Last perihelion November 1, 2007[3]
Next perihelion 2016-Feb-08[3][4]

Comet Arend or 50P/Arend is a periodic comet in the Solar System which was discovered on October 4, 1951.[1] It was discovered by astronomer Sylvain Julien Victor Arend[1] at the Royal Observatory of Belgium located in the municipality of Uccle. The comet was illustrated at approximately a magnitude of 14 and also exhibited a nucleus within a coma 14 arc seconds across. From its discovery, the comet has had 7 perihelions with its last return of Earth recorded on November 1, 2007.[3][5][6][7][8] The comet's next perihelion will be in the year 2016.[9][10]

Observations

50P/Arend was observed at its brightest at a maximum magnitude of 14 when it was discovered in 1951. At the comet’s next apparition on September 1, 1959, did not exceed 17 if it had not been for an outburst in November which affected its brightness to magnitude 15.5. The observed orbital period was 7.8 years at the time of its discovery however at each succeeding perihelion has led to less favorable observations due to its 0.64 astronomical units (AU) as it approached Jupiter in 1969, even if its maximum magnitude was 15. This approach also led to the comet’s orbital period to increase to 8.0 years.[1] Long-term motion studies conducted by Brian G. Marsden on the comet 50P/Arend renders the comet’s orbital eccentricity at 0.5 which makes it relatively undisturbed by Jupiter over the last 200-year cycles despite as passage of only 0.49 AU.[1][11][12][13] The study was conducted inside the interval where libration happens. Several comets, namely 50P/Arend, 4P/Faye, 6P/d'Arrest, 22P/Kopff, 36P/Whipple, 78P/Gehrels, 92P/Sanguin, 4015 Wilson-Harrington, and 128P/Shoemaker-Holt, were observed at the Palomar Observatory. Visible coma activity was only observed from 4P/Faye and 50P/Arend out of the 9 other comets from data obtained in May 2000 and March 2001.[14] There have been 1069 observations from October 8, 1951 to February 19, 2008 also where its mean residual is at 0".60.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "50P/Arend". Gary W. Kronk's Cometography. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  2. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 50P/Arend" (2009-03-19 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  3. 1 2 3 "50P/Arend". Aerith. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  4. ↑ Patrick Rocher (2009-03-19). "Note number : 0120 P/Arend : 50P". Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  5. ↑ "50P/Arend (2007)". Aerith. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  6. ↑ "Periodic Comet 50P/Arend". H. Mikuz, Crni Vrh Observatory, Slovenia. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Catalog of Hubble Space Telescope Comet Observations". The Planetary Data System (PDS) Small Bodies Node (SBN). Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  8. ↑ "COMETA 50P (Arend)". U.A.I. SEZIONE COMETE. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  9. ↑ "Numbered periodic comets index in perihelion year". JComet Observations. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  10. ↑ "Cometas Periódicos (Periodic Comets)". Cometografia. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  11. ↑ Belbruno, E. & Marsden, B. G (1997). "Resonance Hopping in Comets". Astronomical Journal. 113: 1433. Bibcode:1997AJ....113.1433B. doi:10.1086/118359.
  12. ↑ "The Minor Planet Electronic Circulars contain information on unusual minor planets and routine data on comets". Brian G. Marsden MPC. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  13. ↑ Lowry, S; Weissman, Paul R (2003). "The colors of cometary nuclei—Comparison with other primitive bodies of the Solar System and implications for their origin". Icarus. 164 (2): 492. Bibcode:2003Icar..164..492L. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00129-5.
  14. ↑ "CCD observations of distant comets from Palomar and Steward Observatories". Bibcode:2003Icar..164..492L. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00129-5.
  15. ↑ "50P/Arend". Comet Orbit. Retrieved 2010-03-02.

External links

Numbered comets
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49P/Arend–Rigaux 		50P/Arend Next
51P/Harrington
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