26P/Grigg–Skjellerup

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26P/Grigg–Skjellerup
Semi-major axis
3.015 AU
Eccentricity0.6405
Orbital period5.23 yr
Max. orbital speed36.6 km/s @ perihelion[1]
Inclination22.43°
Last perihelionOctober 1, 2018[2]
July 6, 2013[3]
March 23, 2008
Next perihelion2023-Dec-25[2][1][4]
Earth MOID0.1 AU (15 million km)[5]

Comet Grigg–Skjellerup (formally designated 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup) is a periodic

perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 25 December 2023,[2][1][4] but was 1.8 AU from Earth and only 31 degrees from the Sun.[1]

History of observation

The comet was discovered in 1902 by

John Francis Skjellerup, an Australian then living and working for about two decades in South Africa where he was a founder member of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa. In 1987, it was belatedly discovered by Ľubor Kresák that the comet had been observed in 1808 as well, by Jean-Louis Pons
.

In 1972 the comet was discovered to produce a meteor shower, the Pi Puppids, and its current orbit makes them peak around April 23, for observers in the southern hemisphere, best seen when the comet is near perihelion.

During the comet's 1982 approach it was detected using radar by the Arecibo Observatory.[8]

Having its recent perihelion so close to

Comet Halley
. Giotto had a closest approach to Grigg–Skjellerup of 200 km, much closer than its approach to Comet Halley, but was unable to obtain images as its camera was destroyed during the Halley rendezvous in 1986.

The 2002 return (expected perihelion around October 8, 2002) was very unfavorable and no observations were reported.

Properties

The comet has often suffered the gravitational influence of

perihelion distance has changed from 0.77 AU
in 1725 to 0.89 AU in 1922 to 0.99 AU in 1977 and to 1.12 AU in 1999.

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 2.6 kilometers in diameter.[5]

Popular culture


References

  1. ^ a b c d "Horizons Batch for 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup (90000375) on 2023-Dec-25" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-11. (JPL#K234/7 Soln.date: 2022-Dec-19)
  2. ^ a b c "26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  3. Syuichi Nakano (2010-04-08). "26P/Grigg-Skjellerup (NK 1908)"
    . OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  4. ^ a b Kinoshita, Kazuo (2018-07-03). "26P/Grigg-Skjellerup past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  5. ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup" (2022-12-15 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  6. ^ "Giotto, ESA's first deep-space mission: 25 years ago". European Space Agency. March 11, 2011. Archived from the original on October 17, 2011.
  7. ^ "Giotto's second comet encounter". European Space Agency. March 10, 2006. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012.
  8. doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(99)00068-9
    . Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, Outer Space". www.mindat.org. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  10. ^ "NASA Finds New Type of Comet Dust Mineral". www.nasa.gov. June 12, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2017.

External links


Numbered comets
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25D/Neujmin 		26P/Grigg–Skjellerup Next
27P/Crommelin


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