114P/Wiseman–Skiff
Periodic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
114P/WisemanâSkiff is a Jupiter-family comet with a 6.67-year orbit around the Sun. It is the only comet discovered by Jennifer Wiseman and one of several by Brian A. Skiff.
Comet WisemanâSkiff photographed by NEOWISE on 22 January 2020. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jennifer Wiseman Brian A. Skiff |
| Discovery site | Lowell Observatory |
| Discovery date | 28 December 1986 |
| Designations | |
| P/1986 Y1, P/1993 X2 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) |
| Observation arc | 33.38 years |
| Number of observations | 2,245 |
| Aphelion | 5.511 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.575 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.543 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.55545 |
| Orbital period | 6.67 years |
| Inclination | 18.289° |
| 271.03° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 172.75° |
| Mean anomaly | 168.12° |
| Last perihelion | 14 January 2020 |
| Next perihelion | 15 September 2026[4] |
| TJupiter | 2.772 |
| Earth MOID | 0.597 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.182 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean radius | 0.78 ± 0.05 km (0.485 ± 0.031 mi)[5] |
| 0.04 (assumed) | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 13.9 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 16.3 |
Observations
It was discovered by Jennifer Wiseman in January 1987 on two photographic plates that had been taken on 28 December 1986, by Brian A. Skiff of Lowell Observatory. Wiseman and Skiff confirmed the comet on 19 January 1987.
Aphelion is located near the orbit of Jupiter. On 25 February 2043, the comet will pass 0.179 AU (26.8 million km) from Jupiter.[2]
Based on observations conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope, the nucleus of Comet WisemanâSkiff has a radius of 0.78±0.05 km, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[5]
Comet 114P/WisemanâSkiff is believed to have been the parent body of a meteor shower on Mars, and the source of the first meteor photographed from the planet,[7] which was taken by NASA's Spirit rover on 7 March 2004.[8]
