Comet Morehouse
Hyperbolic comet
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Comet Morehouse (modern formal designation: C/1908 R1) was a bright, non-periodic comet discovered by US astronomer Daniel Walter Morehouse on September 1, 1908 (the discovery photograph was taken on September 1, but the comet was not noticed until the following day), at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Morehouse was a graduate student at the time.[4][5] It was unusual in the rapid variations seen in the structure of its tail.[6][7] At times, the tail seemed to split into up to six separate tails;[citation needed] at others, the tail appeared completely detached from the head of the comet.[8] The tail was further unusual in that it formed while the comet was still 2 AU away from the Sun[8] (where distances of 1.5 AU are more usual)[citation needed], and that there was a high concentration of the CO+ ion in its spectrum.[9]
Comet Morehouse depicted from a 1908 postcard.[1] | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Daniel W. Morehouse |
| Discovery site | Yerkes Observatory |
| Discovery date | 1 September 1908 |
| Designations | |
| 1908 III, 1908c | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch | 30 October 1908 (JD 2418244.5) |
| Observation arc | 88 days |
| Number of observations | 137 |
| Perihelion | 0.945 AU |
| Semi-major axis | –1,058.049 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.00089 |
| Inclination | 140.174° |
| 104.459° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 171.584° |
| Last perihelion | 26 December 1908 |
| Earth MOID | 0.0668 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.3183 AU |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
Mean radius | 2.33 km (1.45 mi)[a] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 4.1 |
Orbit
As is typical for comets fresh from the Oort Cloud, its orbital solution is more or less parabolic;[5] if its orbit is in fact closed, it will likely not return for millions of years.
