Biela's Comet

3D/Biela
Comet Biela
Biela's Comet in February 1846, soon after it split into two pieces
Discovery
Discovered byWilhelm von Biela
Discovery dateFebruary 27, 1826
Designations
1772; 1806 I; 1832 III;
1846 II; 1852 III;
1772 E1; 1826 D1; 1832 S1
Orbital characteristics[2][1]
EpochSeptember 29, 1852
Aphelion6.190 AU
Perihelion0.8606 AU
Semi-major axis3.5253 AU
Eccentricity0.7559
Orbital period6.619 yr
Inclination12.550°
Last perihelionSeptember 23, 1852 (fragment A)[1]
September 24, 1852 (fragment B)[1]
Next perihelionLast seen September 1852
TJupiter2.531
Earth MOID0.0005 AU (75 thousand km)
(epoch 1832)[3]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions≈0.5 km (pre-breakup)[4]
Perihelion distance
at different epochs[5][1]
Epoch Perihelion
(AU)		 Period
(years)
1772 0.99 6.87
1805 0.91 6.74
1826 0.90 6.72
1832 0.88 6.65
1846 0.86 6.60
1852 0.86 6.62

Biela's Comet or Comet Biela (official designation: 3D/Biela) was a periodic Jupiter-family comet first recorded in 1772 by Montaigne and Messier and finally identified as periodic in 1826 by Wilhelm von Biela. It was subsequently observed to split in two and has not been seen since 1852. As a result, it is currently considered to have been destroyed, although remnants have survived for some time as a meteor shower, the Andromedids which may show increased activity in 2023.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Wiegert2013-t3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ NK 851A — OAA computing section publication
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ye2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kinoshita was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SWA2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).