122P/de Vico

122P/de Vico

Discovery
Discovered by	Francesco de Vico
Discovery date	20 February 1846
Alternative designations	1846 IV, P/1846 D1, P/1995 S1
Orbital characteristics ^A
Aphelion	34.70 AU
Perihelion	0.659337 AU
Semi-major axis	17.6808 AU
Eccentricity	0.962709
Orbital period	74.35 yr
Inclination	85.3828°
Last perihelion	October 6, 1995
Next perihelion	2069-Oct-14[1][2][3] October 21, 2069[4]

122P/de Vico (provisional designation: 1846 D1) is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 74 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with (20 years < period < 200 years).^[5] It was discovered by Francesco de Vico in Rome on February 20, 1846.

On 3 December 2153 the comet will pass about 0.694 AU (103,800,000 km; 64,500,000 mi) from Uranus.^[6]

Daniel Kirkwood in 1884 noticed that the comet shares elements with comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. He suggested that 122P had calved off Pons-Brooks some centuries prior. Later he identified the two comets' capture into their elliptical orbits (or their parent body's capture) with their shared aphelion close to Neptune 991 CE.^[7]

References

1. Syuichi Nakano (19 November 1999). "122P/de Vico (NK 724)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
2. Horizons output. "Observer Table for Comet 122P/de Vico (1996)". Retrieved 13 June 2011. (Observer Location:@sun)
3. "122P/de Vico Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
4. Seiichi Yoshida (9 November 2005). "122P/de Vico". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
5. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 122P/de Vico". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 25 June 1996. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
6. "JPL Close-Approach Data: 122P/de Vico". 25 June 1996. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
7. Daniel Kirkwood (1886). "The Comets 1812 I, and 1846 IV". The Sidereal Messenger. 5: 13–14.

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 122P/de Vico – Kazuo Kinoshita (1998 Jan. 27)