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162P/Siding Spring

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162P/Siding Spring
The comet on 12 November 2004, displaying a narrow tail
Discovery[1]
Discovered bySiding Spring Observatory
Discovery dateOctober 10, 2004
Designations
P/2004 TU12
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch27 October 2010
Aphelion4.873 AU
Perihelion1.233 AU
Semi-major axis3.053 AU
Eccentricity0.5961
Orbital period5.33 years
Inclination27.817°
Last perihelion7 December 2020
Next perihelion17 May 2026
TJupiter2.792
Earth MOID0.239 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions14.06 ± 0.96 km[3]
32.86 hours[4]
0.022 ± 0.003[4]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		15.2

162P/Siding Spring is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 5.3 years. It was discovered in images obtained on 10 October 2004 as part of the Siding Spring Survey.[1]

The comet was discovered during the Siding Spring Survey as an asteroidal object shining with an apparent magnitude of 14.1 but a tail extending for about 4 arcminutes was observed on 12 November 2004, indicating that it is a comet.[1] The tail grew longer the next days, reaching a length of over 10 arcminutes on 15 November. Two days later the tail was fainter, and bearly visible within one arcminute from the nucleus.[5] On 21 October 2031 the comet will approach Earth at a distance of 0.2456 AU (36.74 million km).[2]

The comet was observed by NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in 2004, finding that the nucleus has an effective radius of 6.0 ± 0.8 km, which corresponds to a visual albedo of 0.034 ± 0.014,[6] and a reflectance spectrum typical of a D-type asteroid.[7] Further observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate an effective radius of 7.03 ± 0.48 km.[3] This is one of the largest nuclei of Jupiter family comets with known radius.[6] More detailed observations indicate that the nucleus has axis ratios a/b = 1.56 and b/c = 2.33, and could possibly have two lobes.[4] The sidereal period of the comet is 32.864 ± 0.001 hours.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Mallia, F.; Masi, G.; Wilcox, R.; Lacruz, J. (1 November 2004). "Comet P/2004 TU_12 (Siding Spring)". International Astronomical Union Circular (8436): 1. ISSN 0081-0304.
  2. ^ a b "Small-Body Database Lookup: 162P/Siding Spring". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b Fernández, Y.R.; Kelley, M.S.; Lamy, P.L.; Toth, I.; Groussin, O.; Lisse, C.M.; A’Hearn, M.F.; Bauer, J.M.; Campins, H.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Licandro, J.; Lowry, S.C.; Meech, K.J.; Pittichová, J.; Reach, W.T.; Snodgrass, C.; Weaver, H.A. (September 2013). "Thermal properties, sizes, and size distribution of Jupiter-family cometary nuclei". Icarus. 226 (1): 1138–1170. arXiv:1307.6191. Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1138F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.021.
  4. ^ a b c d Donaldson, A; Kokotanekova, R; Rożek, A; Snodgrass, C; Gardener, D; Green, S F; Masoumzadeh, N; Robinson, J (2 March 2023). "Characterizing the nucleus of comet 162P/Siding Spring using ground-based photometry". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 521 (1): 1518–1531. arXiv:2302.12141. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad616.
  5. ^ Masi, G. (1 November 2004). "Comet P/2004 TU_12 (Siding Spring)". International Astronomical Union Circular (8439): 1. ISSN 0081-0304.
  6. ^ a b Fernández, Y. R.; Campins, H.; Kassis, M.; Hergenrother, C. W.; Binzel, R. P.; Licandro, J.; Hora, J. L.; Adams, J. D. (September 2006). "Comet 162P/Siding Spring: A Surprisingly Large Nucleus". The Astronomical Journal. 132 (3): 1354–1360. arXiv:astro-ph/0608387. Bibcode:2006AJ....132.1354F. doi:10.1086/506252.
  7. ^ Campins, Humberto; Ziffer, Julie; Licandro, Javier; Pinilla-Alonso, Noemí; Fernández, Yanga; León, Julia de; Mothé-Diniz, Thais; Binzel, Richard P. (September 2006). "Nuclear Spectra of Comet 162P/Siding Spring (2004 TU12)". The Astronomical Journal. 132 (3): 1346–1353. Bibcode:2006AJ....132.1346C. doi:10.1086/506253.
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Numbered comets
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