| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J.-L. Pons |
| Discovery date | February 23, 1818 |
| Alternative designations | 1818 D1, 1873 V1, 1928 W1, 1956 S1 |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch | July 18, 2011 |
| Observation arc | 84 years (1928-2012) |
| Number of observations | 392[1] |
| Aphelion | 17.660 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.748 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 9.204 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.919 |
| Orbital period | 27.9 a |
| Inclination | 28.96° |
| Last perihelion | August 3, 2011[1] February 20, 1984 |
| Next perihelion | May 27, 2039[2][1] 2039-Jun-05[3] |
Comet Crommelin, also known as Comet Pons-Coggia-Winnecke-Forbes, is a periodic comet with an orbital period of almost 28 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with (20 years < period < 200 years). It is named after the British astronomer Andrew C. D. Crommelin who calculated its orbit in 1930. It is one of only four comets not named after their discoverer(s), the other three being Comets Halley, Encke, and Lexell.
The first observation was by Jean-Louis Pons (Marseille, France) on February 23, 1818, he followed the comet until February 27 but was prevented further by bad weather. Johann Franz Encke attempted to calculate the orbit but was left with very large errors.
In 1872, John R. Hind produced a rough orbital calculation and observed it was close to that of Comet Biela, based on these observations, Edmund Weiss later speculated it may have been part of Biela's comet.
The next observation was on November 10, 1873, by Jérôme E. Coggia (Marseille, France), and again on November 11 by Friedrich A. T. Winnecke (Strasbourg, France), but it was lost by November 16. Weiss and Hind took up the calculations and tried to match it again with the 1818 appearance.
A third discovery was by Alexander F. I. Forbes (Cape Town, South Africa) on November 19, 1928, and confirmed by Harry E. Wood (Union Observatory, South Africa) on November 21. It was Crommelin who eventually established the orbit and finally linked the 1818 (Pons) and 1873 (Coggia-Winnecke) comets to it (also see Lost comet).
On its latest return, 27P/Crommelin was recovered on May 12, 2011, at apparent magnitude 18.7[4] and peaked at magnitude 10.7 at perihelion on August 3.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Syuichi Nakano (2012-02-04). "27P/Crommelin (NK 2190)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ MPC
- ^ Horizons output. "Observer Table for Comet 27P/Crommelin [2013])". Retrieved 2020-07-09. (Observer Location:@sun)
- ^ "MPEC 2011-L11 : OBSERVATIONS AND ORBITS OF COMETS". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ Seiichi Yoshida (2013-02-10). "27P/Crommelin (2011) - Magnitudes Graph". Retrieved 2016-03-19.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- 27P/Crommelin at the Minor Planet Center's Database
- 27P at Kronk's Cometography
- 27P at Kazuo Kinoshita's Comets
- 27P at Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog
- 27P at Earthrise Institute
- Lightcurve (Artyom Novichonok)
- 27P as seen by 10" GRAS-04 on 2011-05-30 (60 sec x 8)
- 27P as seen by 20" RCOS on 2011-07-10 (30 sec x 12; Joseph Brimacombe)
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup | 27P/Crommelin | Next 28P/Neujmin |