479P/Elenin
 Comet 479P/Elenin photographed on 10 April 2024 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Leonid Elenin[2] |
| Discovery site | ISON–NM (H15)[1][3] 0.45-m reflector |
| Discovery date | 7 July 2011 |
| Designations | |
| P/2011 NO1 P/2023 WM26 | |
| Orbital characteristics[4][5] | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 13.148 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 12 June 2011 |
| Number of observations | 1,013 |
| Aphelion | 10.002 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.243 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 5.623 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.77898 |
| Orbital period | 13.332 years |
| Inclination | 15.399° |
| 295.83° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 263.49° |
| Mean anomaly | 41.745° |
| Last perihelion | 5 May 2024[6] |
| Next perihelion | 10 September 2037[7] |
| TJupiter | 2.183 |
| Earth MOID | 0.383 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.903 AU |
| Physical characteristics[4] | |
Mean radius | 1.0 km (0.62 mi)[8] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 16.2 |
479P/Elenin, provisional designation P/2011 NO1, is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period estimated at 13.3 years.[4] It is the second of five comets discovered by Russian astronomer, Leonid Elenin.
Observational history
[edit]The comet was discovered on 7 July 2011[1] when the comet was 2.38 AU from the Sun and 1.4 AU from the Earth and had an apparent magnitude of 19.5. It had come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) around 20 January 2011 at 1.2 AU (180 million km) from the Sun.[4] It came to opposition 178.6° from the Sun on 22 July 2011 in the constellation Sagittarius.
On 29 January 2013, the Minor Planet Center awarded Leonid Elenin a 2012 Edgar Wilson Award for the discovery of comets by amateurs.[9]
Maik Meyer proposed that asteroid 2023 WM26, which was discovered by PanSTARRS on 18 November 2023, is the return of P/2011 NO1 (Elenin).[10][11] The link was later confirmed by Shuichi Nakano and Daniel Green.[6] The 2024 apparition was the most favorable in decades, with the comet approaching 0.62 AU (93 million km) to Earth on 4 May 2024, one day before perihelion. The comet appeared gasy and diffuse and brightened to an apparent magnitude of 10 to 11.[12]
Physical characteristics
[edit]The radius of the nucleus is estimated to be less than 1.0 km (0.62 mi).[8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "MPEC 2011-O09 : 2011 NO1". IAU Minor Planet Center. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Sostero, Giovanni; Howes, Nick; Guido, Ernesto (19 July 2011). "New Comet: P/2011 NO1". Associazione Fruilana di Astronomia e Meteorologia. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ "MPEC 2011-O10 : COMET P/2011 NO1". IAU Minor Planet Center. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 "479P/Elenin – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ↑ "479P/Elenin Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- 1 2 Green, Daniel (28 January 2024). "COMET P/2023 WM_26 = P/2011 NO_1 (ELENIN)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 5340: 1.
- ↑ "Horizons Batch for 479P/Elenin (90001462) on 2037-Sep-10" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 27 February 2026. (JPL#34 Soln.date: 2024-Aug-11)
- 1 2 J. A. Fernández; A. Sosa (2015). "Jupiter family comets in near-Earth orbits: Are some of them interlopers from the asteroid belt?". Planetary & Space Science. 118: 14–24. Bibcode:2015P&SS..118...14F. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.07.010.
- ↑ "2012 Comet Awards Announced". 29 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ↑ Meyer, Maik. "2023 WM26 = P/2011 NO1 (Elenin)". groups.io. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ↑ "MPEC 2023-Y72 : 2023 WM26". Minor Planet Center. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ↑ "ALPO COMET NEWS FOR MAY 2024" (PDF). The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
External links
[edit]- 479P/Elenin at the JPL Small-Body Database
- Survey anniversary gift – a new comet is discovered! (Leonid Elenin – SpaceObs – 19 July 2011)
- New Comet: P/2011 NO1 (Luca Buzzi – 19 July 2011)
- New Comet: P/2011 NO1 (Remanzacco Observatory – 19 July 2011)
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