C/2004 Q1 (Tucker)
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Roy A. Tucker |
| Discovery site | Tucson, Arizona |
| Discovery date | 23 August 2004 |
| Designations | |
| CK04Q010[2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch | 11 December 2004 (JD 2453350.5) |
| Observation arc | 615 days (1.68 years) |
| Earliest precovery date | 22 August 2004 |
| Number of observations | 1,972 |
| Aphelion | 371.4 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.047 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 186.739 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.98904 |
| Orbital period | 2,552 years |
| Inclination | 56.09° |
| 22.13° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 32.97° |
| Last perihelion | 6 December 2004 |
| TJupiter | 1.015 |
| Earth MOID | 1.146 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.582 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 9.6 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 11.8 |
| 10.5 (2004 apparition) | |
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.
Discovery and observations
[edit]Roy A. Tucker discovered the comet as a diffuse magnitude 14.6 object in the constellation Cetus on 23 August 2004,[a] using a 0.35 m (14 in) reflector telescope.[4] Images on 25 August show a 30" coma and a tail measuring 70" in length.[1] It steadily brightened in the following months until it reached perihelion on December 2004, although it did not get any closer to the inner Solar System, resulting in a peak magnitude of 10.5.[5]
Orbital calculations by Brian G. Marsden revealed that C/2004 Q1 might not be a "new" comet from the Oort cloud, noting its trajectory as dynamically old.[6] It was last observed on 4 May 2005.[5]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c D. W. Green (25 August 2004). "Comet C/2004 Q1 (Tucker)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 8393. ISSN 0081-0304.
- ^ B. G. Marsden (25 August 2004). "MPEC 2004-Q43: Comet C/2004 Q1 (Tucker)". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ "C/2004 Q1 (Tucker) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ S. Yoshida (11 August 2020). "C/2004 Q1 ( Tucker )". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ a b J. Shanklin (20 November 2019). "BAA Comet Section: New Comets Discovered in 2004". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ B. G. Marsden (23 October 2004). "MPEC 2004-U30: Comet C/2004 Q1 (Tucker)". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
External Links
[edit]- C/2004 Q1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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