C/2006 W3 (Christensen)
Non-periodic comet
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C/2006 W3 (Christensen) is a non-periodic comet that was observed through telescopes between 2006 and 2011. It is one of several comets discovered by American astronomer, Eric J. Christensen.
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Discoverydate18 November 2006
Comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen) photographed near Mayhill, New Mexico on 25 June 2009 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Eric J. Christensen |
| Discovery site | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery date | 18 November 2006 |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 11 March 2009 (JD 2454901.5) |
| Observation arc | 4.90 years (1,791 days) |
| Earliest precovery date | 29 October 2006 |
| Number of observations | 5,639 |
| Aphelion | ~5,300 AU (inbound) ~8,200 AU (outbound) |
| Perihelion | 3.126 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.99982 |
| Orbital period | ~140,000 years (inbound) ~260,000 years (outbound) |
| Max. orbital speed | 23.8 km/s |
| Inclination | 127.07° |
| 113.57° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 133.51° |
| Last perihelion | 6 July 2009 |
| TJupiter | –1.321 |
| Earth MOID | 2.299 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.304 AU |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
Mean radius | 13.0±2.0 km[4] |
| 21 hours[5] | |
| 0.04 (assumed) | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 8.2 |
| 7.6 (2009 apparition)[6] | |
Physical characteristics
Infrared observations from Herschel and Spitzer in 2009 allowed astronomers to estimate the size and rotation of C/2003 W3's nucleus.[5] Initial estimates in 2010 revealed an effective radius of <26 km (16 mi),[7] however this value was later revised to 13±2 km in 2016, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[4] Data from Spitzer also revealed that the comet has a rotation period of 21 hours.[5]
