68P/Klemola

68P/Klemola

Discovery
Discovered by	Arnold Richard Klemola
Discovery date	November 1965
Alternative designations	1965j 1965 VI, 1976j, 1976 X, 1987th, 1987th XIV
Orbital characteristics ^A
Aphelion	8.032 AU
Perihelion	1.755 AU[1]
Semi-major axis	4.896 AU
Eccentricity	0.6407
Orbital period	10.82 a[2]
Inclination	11.1°[2]
Last perihelion	January 20, 2009
Next perihelion	November 9, 2019[3][4]

68P/Klemola or Klemola's Comet is a periodic comet, which belongs to Jupiter's comet family, that was discovered in 1965 by American astronomer Arnold Richard Klemola in Argentinian Yale-Columbia Southern Station.^[2] Its orbital period is 10.82 years.^[2]

It was observed at the next predicted apparition by Gérard Sause at the Observatoire de Haute Provence, France on 6 August 1976 with a brightness of magnitude 12. It was successfully observed in 1987 when J. Gibson of the Palomar Observatory, California, obtained images with the 1.5-meter reflector on 16 February. It appeared essentially stellar, with a faint magnitude of 19. It was observed again on 29 March 1997 by Carl W. Hergenrother at the F. L. Whipple Observatory, with perihelion on 1 May 1998.

See also

• List of numbered comets

References

1. Fernández, Julio Angel (2005), Comets: nature, dynamics, origin, and their cosmogonical relevance, Springer Science & Business, p. 344, ISBN 1-4020-3490-3
2. Zombeck, Martin V. (2007), Handbook of space astronomy and astrophysics (3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 61, ISBN 978-0-521-78242-5
3. Seiichi Yoshida (2010-07-03). "68P/Klemola". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
4. Patrick Rocher (January 15, 2010). "Note number : 0023 P/Klemola : 68P". Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides. Retrieved 2012-02-19.

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 68P/Klemola in Cometography