10P/Tempel

10P/Tempel
Discovery
Discovered by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel
Discovery date July 4, 1873
Alternative
designations		 1873 II; 1878 III; 1894 III;
1899 IV; 1904 III; 1915 I;
1920 II; 1925 IV; 1930 VII;
1946 III; 1951 VIII; 1957 II;
1962 VI; 1967 X; 1972 X;
1978 V; 1983 X; 1988 XIV;
1994 VII;
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch December 4, 2015
(JD 2457360.5)
Aphelion 4.711 AU
Perihelion 1.4176 AU
Semi-major axis 3.064 AU
Eccentricity 0.53736
Orbital period 5.36 yr
Inclination 12.028°
Dimensions 10.6 km[1]
Last perihelion 4 July 2010[2][3]
Next perihelion 14 November 2015[4][5][6]

10P/Tempel, also known as Tempel 2, is a periodic Jupiter-family comet in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1873 and has an orbital period of 5.3 years.[7]

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 10.6 kilometers in diameter with a low albedo of 0.022.[1] The nucleus is dark because hydrocarbons on the surface have been converted to a dark, tarry like substance by solar ultraviolet radiation.

During the 2010 apparition the comet brightened to about apparent magnitude 8.[2] It next comes to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 14 November 2015 when it should brighten to around magnitude 11.[2]

The most favorable apparition of 10P/Tempel 2 was in 1925 when it came within 0.35 AU (52,000,000 km; 33,000,000 mi) of Earth with an apparent magnitude of 6.5.[8] On August 3, 2026, comet Tempel 2 is expected to have another close pass within about 0.41 AU of Earth.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 10P/Tempel 2" (last observation: 2014-03-29; arc: 67.91 years). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. 1 2 3 Seiichi Yoshida (2008-01-27). "10P/Tempel 2". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  3. ↑ Syuichi Nakano (2007-04-10). "10P/Tempel 2 (NK 1460)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  4. ↑ Patrick Rocher (2012-01-22). "Note number : 0019 P/Tempel 2 : 10P". Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  5. ↑ 10P at Kazuo Kinoshita home page
  6. ↑ Horizons output. "Observer Table for 10P/Tempel". Retrieved 2011-07-24. (Observer Location:@sun)
  7. ↑ "10P/Tempel Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  8. ↑ Kronk, Gary W. "10P/Tempel 2". Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24. (Cometography Home Page)
  9. ↑ "JPL Close-Approach Data: 10P/Tempel 2" (last observation: 2014-03-29; arc: 67.91 years). Retrieved 2010-02-24.

External links

Numbered comets
Previous
9P/Tempel 		10P/Tempel Next
11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.