130P/McNaught–Hughes
Periodic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
130P/McNaughtâHughes is a Jupiter-family comet with a 6.22-year orbit around the Sun. It is the second of two comets co-discovered by Robert H. McNaught and Shaun M. Hughes.[a]
Discoverydate30 September 1991
P/1991 S1, P/1997 H1
Comet McNaughtâHughes imaged from an 8-in reflector on 3 August 2024 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Robert H. McNaught Shaun M. Hughes |
| Discovery site | Siding Spring Observatory (UK Schmidt Telescope) |
| Discovery date | 30 September 1991 |
| Designations | |
| P/1991 S1, P/1997 H1 | |
| 1991 IX, 1991y | |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 24 February 2018 (JD 2458173.5) |
| Observation arc | 33.43 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 14 September 1991 |
| Number of observations | 2,362 |
| Aphelion | 4.941 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.824 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.382 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.46079 |
| Orbital period | 6.219 years |
| Inclination | 6.065° |
| 70.256° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 245.91° |
| Mean anomaly | 5.267° |
| Last perihelion | 14 April 2024 |
| Next perihelion | 12 September 2030[4] |
| TJupiter | 2.962 |
| Earth MOID | 0.820 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.566 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean radius | 2.67 km (1.66 mi)[5] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.4 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.7 |
Physical characteristics
Initial estimates of in 1994 place the size of its nucleus to be around 4.2 km (2.6 mi) in diameter.[6] Infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2006 and 2007 reveal the nucleus of this comet to be about 5.34 km (3.32 mi) in diameter.[5]
Notes
- The first comet that both astronomers had co-discovered was C/1990 M1 (McNaughtâHughes).
