C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Kacper Wierzchoś |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 March 2024 |
| Designations | |
| CK24E010[2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch | 16 May 2024 (JD 2460446.5) |
| Observation arc | 282 days |
| Earliest precovery date | 15 February 2024[3] |
| Number of observations | 294 |
| Perihelion | 0.5656 AU (84.61 million km) |
| Semi-major axis | >10,000 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.000026 |
| Inclination | 75.233° |
| 108.117° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 243.657° |
| Longitude of perihelion | 135.306° |
| Next perihelion | 20 January 2026 |
| TJupiter | 0.238 |
| Earth MOID | 0.200 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.902 AU |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 4.9 |
C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is a hyperbolic Oort cloud comet, discovered on 3 March 2024 by Polish astronomer Kacper Wierzchoś. It will reach perihelion on 20 January 2026, when it could have an apparent magnitude of +5.
Discovery
[edit]During a routine Mt. Lemmon survey (G96) search on 3 March 2024, one of the scientists participating in the project, Kacper Wierzchoś, spotted a moving object in four, 30-second exposure images taken using an f/1.6 1.5 m (59 in) Cassegrain telescope, equipped with a 111.5 megapixel (10,560 x 10,560 pixel) CCD. It appeared as a 20th-magnitude object in the constellation Draco, about 2 degrees north of the star ν Dra.[5] Since the discovery announcement, the Zwicky Transient Facility have reported that they obtained precovery images of the comet between 15 and 29 February 2024.[3] The comet was reported to have a condensed coma about 4 arcseconds in diameter and a tail about 6 arcseconds long.[1][2]
Perihelion
[edit]The comet will approach perihelion on 20 January 2026 around 18 UT.[6] It will appear about 21 degrees from the Sun and will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Peak brightness will reach approximately +5 magnitude, meaning it could be visible through binoculars.[7] It will be about 1.351 AU (202.1 million km; 125.6 million mi) from Earth.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b D. W. Green (7 March 2024). "Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2175.
- ^ a b "MPEC 2024-E102: Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ a b J. Shanklin (21 December 2024). "BAA Comet Section: New Comets Discovered in 2024". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ "Facilities". Catalina Sky Survey. University of Arizona. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Observation list for C/2024 E1". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ a b G. van Buitenen. "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
External links
[edit]- C/2024 E1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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