126P/IRAS
Periodic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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][7]
Comet 126P/IRAS photographed from the Zwicky Transient Facility on 27 July 2023 | |
| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Infrared Astronomical Satellite |
| Discovery date | 26 July 1983 |
| Designations | |
| P/1983 M1, P/1996 P1 | |
| 1983 XIV, 1983j | |
| Orbital characteristics[3][4] | |
| Epoch | 27 May 2021 (JD 2459361.5) |
| Observation arc | 27.52 years |
| Number of observations | 1,717 |
| Aphelion | 9.573 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.713 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 5.640 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.69628 |
| Orbital period | 13.395 years |
| Inclination | 45.869° |
| 357.86° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 356.52° |
| Mean anomaly | 303.38° |
| Last perihelion | 5 July 2023 |
| Next perihelion | 11 October 2036 |
| TJupiter | 1.964 |
| Earth MOID | 0.711 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.771 AU |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
| Dimensions | 1.57±0.14 km[5] |
| 0.15±0.03[6] | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 11.8 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.9 |
Observational history
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.[7] The comet was observed again during its next apparition in 1996, when it brightened up to magnitude of about 11 in September 1996 and faded to about 12 in October.[8][9] The comet was observed during its 2010 and 2023 apparitions.[10]
During the 1996 apparition, the comet was observed by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) when it was near perihelion. At the time, the comet had a 15 arcminute long tail in mid-infrared.
Physical characteristics
The surface was covered with dust grains smaller than 5 microns, a grain size similar to Halley's Comet. The dust mass loss rate was between 150–600 kg/s, while the comet shed 3.3 times more dust mass than gas mass. The albedo of the dust grain in the tail was estimated to be 0.15±0.03.[6] 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
It has been proposed that meteoroids expelled from the comet about 13,000 years ago could reach Earth, producing a diffuse meteor shower.[11]