373P/Rinner
Periodic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
373P/Rinner is a periodic comet with a 7.42-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first comet discovered by French astronomer, Claudine Rinner,[1][a] and the first comet discovery from France since C/1997 J2 (Meunier–Dupouy).[7]
_by_Charles_Bell.jpg)
Comet 373P/Rinner photographed by Charles Bell on 30 November 2011. | |
| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Claudine Rinner |
| Discovery site | Oukaïmeden, Morocco |
| Discovery date | 28 November 2011 |
| Designations | |
| P/2011 W2, P/2018 R2 | |
| PK11W020 | |
| Orbital characteristics[3][4] | |
| Epoch | 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5) |
| Observation arc | 7.34 years |
| Number of observations | 921 |
| Aphelion | 5.296 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.313 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.805 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.39217 |
| Orbital period | 7.421 years |
| Inclination | 13.759° |
| 231.95° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 221.13° |
| Mean anomaly | 82.099° |
| Last perihelion | 8 April 2019 |
| Next perihelion | 5 September 2026 |
| TJupiter | 2.895 |
| Earth MOID | 1.341 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.449 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5] | |
Mean radius | < 2.2 km (1.4 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 6.0 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 15.3 |
Observational history
The comet was first discovered on CCD images taken from the Oukaïmeden Observatory in 28 November 2011.[2] Claudine Rinner noted a faint tail about an arcminute in length, nearly an 18th-magnitude object in the constellation Canis Minor.[b] Additional observations across the globe in the following days would later confirm the existence of Rinner's comet, which was subsequently designated as P/2011 W2.[2] Gareth V. Williams provided the comet's preliminary orbital elements on the Minor Planet Center's site, which indicated it is in a roughly 10-year periodic orbit around the Sun.[8]
Krisztián Sárneczky and Róbert Szakáts recovered the comet from the Konkoly Observatory as P/2018 R2 on 14 September 2018.[9] The comet would later receive its official numerical designation, 373P, on December 2018 alongside 11 other comets.[10]
Physical characteristics
Observations from the Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN) in Spain between December 2011 and January 2012 helped to determine the dust environment around the comet. Analysis of the photographic plates taken determined mass loss rate of 2.0 kg/s (4.4 lb/s) while it was 1.45 AU (217 million km) from the Sun.[5] This is comparable to other comets with low activity like 115P/Maury and 157P/Tritton.[5]
The low activity being produced from the comet had enabled astronomers to also determine the size of its nucleus, where it is estimated to be no greater than 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in radius.[5]