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55P/Tempel–Tuttle

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55P/Tempel–Tuttle
Sketch of the comet by Wilhem Tempel, 19 December 1865
Discovery
Discovered byWilhelm Tempel and Horace Parnell Tuttle
Discovery date19 December 1865
Designations
1366 U1; 1699 U1;
1699 II; 1865 Y1;
1866 I; 1965 M2;
1965 IV; 1965i;
1997 E1
Orbital characteristics
Epoch2031-05-14
(JD 2463000.5)
Aphelion19.96 AU
Perihelion0.9644 AU
Semi-major axis10.46 AU
Eccentricity0.9078
Orbital period33.83 yr
Inclination162.57°
Last perihelion28 February 1998[1]
Next perihelion20 May 2031[2][3][1][4]
Earth MOID0.008 AU (1,200,000 km)[5]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions3.6 km[5]

55P/Tempel–Tuttle (commonly known as Comet Tempel–Tuttle) is a retrograde periodic comet with an orbital period of 33 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with a period of between 20 and 200 years. It was independently discovered by Wilhelm Tempel on 19 December 1865, and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on 6 January 1866. It is the parent body of the Leonid meteor shower.

Characteristics

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The nucleus of the comet was observed by Hubble Space Telescope during the 1998 apparition and assuming an albedo of 0.04 its nucleus was estimated to have a mean radius of 1.8 km.[6] The nucleus has red color, with a B-V 0.75 ± 0.05 and V-R 0.51 ± 0.05.[7] A jet was obversed emanating from the nucleus and based on its movement the rotation period was calculated to be 15.31 ± 0.03 and 14.79 ± 0.02 hours.[8]

The spectrum of the comet revealed the presence of diatomic carbon, NH2 and [Oi]. The relative production rates indicate that the comet is depleted in diatomic carbon when compared with Halley's comet. The gas-to-dust ratio also indicated it was gas rich compared with Halley's comet.[9] The infrared spectrum of the comet closely resembled that of a black body with a temperature of 330 K and lacked silicate emission that has been detected in other comets.[10]

Sightings

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In 1699, it was observed by Gottfried Kirch[11] but was not recognized as a periodic comet until the discoveries by Tempel and Tuttle during the 1866 perihelion. In 1933, S. Kanda deduced that the comet of 1366 was Tempel–Tuttle, which was confirmed by Joachim Schubart in 1965.[11][12] On 26 October 1366, the comet passed 0.0229 AU (3,430,000 km; 2,130,000 mi; 8.9 LD) from Earth.[13] It is possible the comet was also observed in October 1234, however it is mentioned briefly by a single Japanese source, and also a comet observed in China in January 1035 could be comet Temple-Tuttle, however unless it had underwent a major outburst, it would have been too dim to observe with naked eye.[14]

Comet Tempel-Tuttle was recovered by J. Schubart in images taken by Michiel John Bester on 30 June 1966 using the 10-inch telescope of Boyden Observatory, South Africa. At that time the comet had an apparent magnitude of 16.[15] The presence of the comet was confirmed in plates obtained by Palomar Observatory on 30 June. These were the only two observations of the comet during the 1965 apparition.[16]

The comet was recovered on 4 March 1997 by Karen Meech, Olivier Hainaut and James "Gerbs" Bauer, at the University of Hawai`i. At the time it was very faint (22.5 mag), but the recovery proved that it was returning on schedule and that its orbit was very well determined.[17] During the 1998 apparition the comet brightened more than predicted and reached an apparent magnitude of 7.4–7.8 in late February and could be observed with binoculars. It was last observed on 5 July 1998.[11]

Orbit

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The retrograde orbit of 55P/Tempel–Tuttle causes meteors to impact Earth at a high speed of 70 km/s. The orbit intersects that of Earth nearly exactly, hence streams of material ejected from the comet during perihelion passages do not have to spread out much over time to encounter Earth. The comet currently has an Earth-MOID of 0.008 AU (1,200,000 km; 740,000 mi).[5] This coincidence means that past streams from the comet at perihelion are still dense when they encounter Earth, resulting in the 33-year cycle of Leonid meteor storms. For example, the 1833 meteor storm was created by the previous 1800 perihelion passage.[18] Between 2021–2030, Earth will often pass through the meteoroid stream left behind from the 1733 orbit.[19]

55P/Tempel–Tuttle Earth approaches
Year Nominal geocentric
distance (AU)
1366 0.023 AU (3.4 million km)[13][11]
1699 0.064 AU (9.6 million km)[1][11]
1832 0.171 AU (25.6 million km)[20][1]
1998 0.356 AU (53.3 million km)[21][1]
2031 0.791 AU (118.3 million km)[22][1]
2163 0.132 AU (19.7 million km)[5]

55P/Tempel–Tuttle is estimated to have a nucleus of mass 1.2×1013 kg[23] and radius 1.8 km[23] and a stream of mass 5×1012 kg.[23]

Animation of 55P/Tempel–Tuttle's orbit from 1990 to 2180
Around Sun
Around Earth
   Sun ·    Earth ·    Mars ·    Jupiter ·   55P/Tempel–Tuttle

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Kinoshita, Kazuo (16 September 1999). "55P/Tempel-Tuttle past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ Seiichi Yoshida (12 December 2005). "55P/Tempel-Tuttle". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Horizons Batch for 55P/Tempel-Tuttle (90000621) at 2031-May-20 23:45:52" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 26 August 2023. (JPL#J985/69 Soln.date: 2002-Jan-03)
  4. ^ "55P/Tempel-Tuttle Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 55P/Tempel-Tuttle" (last observation: 1998-07-05). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  6. ^ Lamy, P.; Znojil, V.; Biver, N. (1 March 1998). "Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle". International Astronomical Union Circular. 6851: 2. ISSN 0081-0304.
  7. ^ Lamy, P.; Toth, I. (June 2009). "The colors of cometary nuclei—Comparison with other primitive bodies of the Solar System and implications for their origin". Icarus. 201 (2): 674–713. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.01.030.
  8. ^ Jorda, L.; Lecacheux, J.; Colas, F.; Frappa, E.; Laques, P.; Keen, R.; Lehky, M.; Bortle, J.; O'Meara, S. J.; Kronk, G. W. (1 January 1998). "Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle". International Astronomical Union Circular. 6816: 2. ISSN 0081-0304.
  9. ^ Hamane, T.; Kawakita, H.; Suzuki, B.; Yano, H.; Yoshida, Michitoshi; Watanabe, J. (1 March 2003). "Gas-to-dust ratio and chemical composition in comet 55P / Tempel-Tuttle". The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science report. S.P: 17–22.
  10. ^ Lynch, D (March 2000). "3- to 14- μm Spectroscopy of Comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle, Parent Body of the Leonid Meteors". Icarus. 144 (1): 187–190. doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6260.
  11. ^ a b c d e C&MS: 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
  12. ^ Schubart, Joachim (27 May 1966). "Comet Tempel-Tuttle: Recovery of the Long-Lost Comet of the November Meteors". Science. 152 (3726): 1236–1237. doi:10.1126/science.152.3726.1236.
  13. ^ a b "Closest Approaches to the Earth by Comets". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  14. ^ Yeomans, Donald K.; Yau, Kevin K.; Weissman, Paul R. (December 1996). "The Impending Appearance of Comet Tempel–Tuttle and the Leonid Meteors". Icarus. 124 (2): 407–413. doi:10.1006/icar.1996.0218.
  15. ^ Gingerich, Owen (4 October 1965). "Periodic Comet Tempel-Tuttle (1965i)". International Astronomical Union Circulars. 1926: 2.
  16. ^ Gingerich, Owen (1 November 1966). "Periodic Comet Tempel-Tuttle (1965i)". International Astronomical Union Circulars. 1979: 1.
  17. ^ "Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Through History".
  18. ^ Archive of Leonid dust trail positions in 1833
  19. ^ Mikhail, Maslov. "Leonids 2021-2030". Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Horizons Batch for 55P/Tempel-Tuttle (90000621) at 1832-Dec-16" (J985 fits data all the way back to 1865). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  21. ^ "Horizons Batch for 55P/Tempel-Tuttle (90000621) at 1998-Jan-17" (Closest Earth approach occurs when deldot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Horizons Batch for 55P/Tempel-Tuttle (90000621) at 2031-Feb-25" (Closest Earth approach occurs when deldot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 5 September 2023. (JPL#J985/69 Soln.date: 2002-Jan-03)
  23. ^ a b c David C. Jewitt. "From Cradle To Grave: The Rise and Demise of the Comets" (PDF). Comets II. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
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Numbered comets
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