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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did 126P/IRAS comet say? I'm iras-istible.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

126P/IRAS
Comet 126P/IRAS photographed from the Zwicky Transient Facility on 27 July 2023
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byInfrared Astronomical Satellite
Discovery date26 July 1983
Designations
P/1983 M1, P/1996 P1
1983 XIV, 1983j
Orbital characteristics[3][4]
Epoch27 May 2021 (JD 2459361.5)
Observation arc40.63 years[a]
Earliest precovery date30 June 1983
Number of
observations		1,902
Aphelion9.573 AU
Perihelion1.713 AU
Semi-major axis5.640 AU
Eccentricity0.69628
Orbital period13.395 years
Inclination45.869°
357.86°
Argument of
periapsis		356.52°
Mean anomaly303.38°
Last perihelion5 July 2023
Next perihelion11 October 2036
TJupiter1.964
Earth MOID0.711 AU
Jupiter MOID2.771 AU
Physical characteristics[3]
Dimensions1.57±0.14 km[5]
Mean density
580±90 kg/m3[6]
0.15±0.03[7]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		11.8
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		14.9

126P/IRAS is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 13.4 years. It was discovered in images taken by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) on 28 July 1983 by J. Davies.[1] The discovery was confirmed with images taken with the 1.2-m Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory.[2][8]

Observational history

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Upon discovery the comet had an apparent magnitude of 15 and appeared stellar in appearance.[1] The comet brightened and in mid September 1983 reached an apparent magnitude of 11 while a tail 3.5 arcminutes long was observed. Brian G. Marsden computed its orbit and found it is a short period comet with an orbital period of 13.32 years.[8] The comet was observed again during its next apparition in 1996,[9] when it brightened up to magnitude of about 11 in September 1996 and faded to about 12 in October.[10][11] The comet was observed during its 2010 and 2023 apparitions.[12]

During the 1996 apparition, the comet was observed by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) when it was near perihelion.[7] At the time, the comet had a 15 arcminute long tail in mid-infrared. The Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) satellite also observed the comet in infrared.[13]

Physical characteristics

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The surface was covered with dust grains smaller than 5 microns, a grain size similar to Halley's Comet. Estimates of the dust mass loss rate during its 1996 apparition was between 150–600 kg/s while the comet shed 3.3 times more dust mass than gas mass,[7] however other studies showed the rate to be much lower at only 50 kg/s.[14] The albedo of the dust grain in the tail was estimated to be 0.15±0.03.[7] The nucleus is estimated to have a radius of 1.57 ± 0.14 km (0.976 ± 0.087 mi) based on infrared observations.[5]

Possible meteor shower

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It has been proposed that meteoroids expelled from the comet about 13,000 years ago could reach Earth, producing a diffuse meteor shower.[15]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Observation arc from the Minor Planet Center database covering dates from 30 June 1983 until 15 February 2024.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 J. Davies; J. Gibson (1 July 1983). D. W. Green (ed.). "Possible Comet". IAU Circular. 3833 (1). Bibcode:1983IAUC.3833....1D. ISSN 0081-0304.
  2. 1 2 J. Davies; A. C. Gilmore; P. M. Kilmartin (7 July 1983). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Comet IRAS (1983j)". IAU Circular. 3837 (1). Bibcode:1983IAUC.3837....1G. ISSN 0081-0304.
  3. 1 2 "126P/IRAS – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "126P/IRAS Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 O. Groussin; P. Lamy; L. Jorda; I. Toth (2004). "The nuclei of comets 126P/IRAS and 103P/Hartley 2" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 419 (1): 375–383. Bibcode:2004A&A...419..375G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20040073.
  6. ↑ M. L. Paradowski (2022). "A New Indirect Method of Determining Density of Cometary Nuclei" (PDF). Acta Astronomica. 72 (2): 141–159. Bibcode:2022AcA....72..141P. doi:10.32023/0001-5237/72.2.4. ISSN 0001-5237.
  7. 1 2 3 4 C. M. Lisse; Y. R. Fernández; M. F. A'Hearn; E. Grün; H. U. Käufl; et al. (2004). "A tale of two very different comets: ISO and MSX measurements of dust emission from 126P/IRAS (1996) and 2P/Encke (1997)". Icarus. 171 (2): 444–462. Bibcode:2004Icar..171..444L. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.05.015.
  8. 1 2 G. W. Kronk. "126P/IRAS". Cometography.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  9. ↑ R. M. McNaught; Q. A. Parker; K. Muraoka; et al. (9 August 1996). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/1996 P1 (IRAS)". IAU Circular. 6446 (1). Bibcode:1996IAUC.6446....1M. ISSN 0081-0304.
  10. ↑ B. G. Marsden; D. A. J. Seargent; P. Camilleri; J. Kobayashi; A. Hale (2 October 1996). "Comet 126P/IRAS". IAU Circular. 6483 (2). Bibcode:1996IAUC.6483....2M. ISSN 0081-0304.
  11. ↑ R. Keen; J. Carvajal; K. Sarneczky; D. A. J. Seargent; J. Hu (24 October 1996). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet 126P/IRAS". IAU Circular. 6497 (2). Bibcode:1996IAUC.6497....2K. ISSN 0081-0304.
  12. ↑ S. Yoshida. "126P/IRAS". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  13. ↑ K. E. Kraemer; C. M. Lisse; S. D. Price; et al. (2005). "Midcourse Space Experiment Observations of Small Solar System Bodies". The Astronomical Journal. 130 (5): 2363–2382. Bibcode:2005AJ....130.2363K. doi:10.1086/444536.
  14. ↑ M. J. Foster; S. F. Green (2007). "Three-dimensional cometary dust coma modelling in the collisionless regime: strengths and weaknesses" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 377 (3): 1064–1084. Bibcode:2007MNRAS.377.1064F. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11563.x.
  15. ↑ D. Tomko; L. Neslušan (2012). "Search for New Parent Bodies of Meteoroid Streams Among Comets I: Showers of Comets 126P/1996 P1 and 161P/2004 V2 with Radiants on Southern Sky" (PDF). Earth, Moon, & Planets. 108 (2): 123–138. Bibcode:2012EM&P..108..123T. doi:10.1007/s11038-012-9387-x.
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