C/1957 U1 (Latyshev–Wild–Burnham)
| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ivan N. Latyshev Paul Wild Robert Burnham, Jr. |
| Discovery site | Askhabad, USSR Bern, Switzerland Arizona, USA |
| Discovery date | 16–19 October 1957 |
| Designations | |
| 1957f[3] 1957 IX | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch | 5 December 1957 (JD 2436177.6293) |
| Observation arc | 23 days |
| Earliest precovery date | 2 October 1957 |
| Number of observations | 9 |
| Perihelion | 0.539 AU |
| Eccentricity | ~1.000 |
| Inclination | 156.715° |
| 210.875° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 277.614° |
| Last perihelion | 5 December 1957 |
| Earth MOID | 0.1257 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5] | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.6 |
| 6.0 (1957 apparition) | |
Comet Latyshev–Wild–Burnham, also known as C/1957 U1, is a faint parabolic comet that was observed during the third week of October 1957. It was the first comet discovered by American astronomer Robert Burnham, Jr., which he co-discovered alongside Turkmen astronomer, Ivan N. Latyshev, and Swiss astronomer, Paul Wild.
Discovery and observations
[edit]The comet was first spotted by Ivan N. Latyshev while observing an RR Lyr variable star named X Arietis on the night of 16 October 1957.[5] It was then independently discovered by Robert Burnham, Jr. three days later, where he reported his observation to the Lowell Observatory for verification.[6] Unfavorable weather conditions prevented follow-up observations to be conducted at Lowell to confirm Burnham's find, however its existence was verified when reports came that Paul Wild spotted the comet a few hours before Burnham did.[6] Their respective discoveries were eventually announced by the International Astronomical Union on 23 October 1957.[1]
Orbit
[edit]The very few observations conducted for the comet had made orbital calculations difficult to determine. However, the prediscovery ephemerides from the Sonneberg Observatory enabled Michael P. Candy to calculate a parabolic trajectory for the comet on 23 October 1957.[1][7] This was followed-up by Brian G. Marsden and Ichiro Hasegawa a month later, however there were large differences remaining in the calculations.[8]
It made its closest approach with Earth on 21 October 1957, when it came within 0.1257 AU (18.80 million km) from our planet.[5] Based on Candy's calculations, the comet should have reached perihelion by 5 December 1957, provided it had not disintegrated beforehand.[1]
Meteor shower
[edit]In 2014, a newly discovered meteor shower consisting of 45 meteors were found to have similar mean orbits with the comet C/1957 U1, potentially indicating that the comet might have a highly eccentric elliptical orbit instead of a parabolic trajectory.[9] This meteor shower, called the Kappa Aurigids, is active between October 11–31 of each year, reaching peak activity on October 20.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d J. M. Vinter Hansen (23 October 1957). "Comet Latyshev–Wild–Burnham (1957f)". International Astronomical Union Circular (1624).
- ^ G. W. Kronk (28 March 2005). "Question: comet discoverer Latyshev". Groups.io. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^ "C/1957 U1 (Latyshev–Wild–Burnham) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ a b c G. W. Kronk (2009). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 4: 1933–1959. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 543–544. ISBN 978-0-521-58507-1.
- ^ a b G. W. Kronk; T. Ortega. "C&MS: Robert Burnham, Jr". Cometography.com. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ J. M. Vinter Hansen (29 October 1957). "Comet Latyshev–Wild–Burnham (1957f)". International Astronomical Union Circular (1625).
- ^ J. M. Vinter Hansen (23 November 1957). "Comet Latyshev–Wild–Burnham (1957f)". International Astronomical Union Circular (1629).
- ^ a b D. Šegon; P. Gural; Ž. Andreić; et al. (2014). "New Showers from Parent Body search across several Video Meteor Databases". WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization. 42 (2): 57–64. Bibcode:2014JIMO...42...57S.
External links
[edit]- C/1957 U1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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