19P/Borrelly

19P/Borrelly
Discovery
Discovered byAlphonse Borrelly
Discovery dateDecember 28, 1904
Designations
1905 II; 1911 VIII; 1918 IV;
1925 VIII; 1932 IV; 1953 IV;
1960 V; 1967 VIII; 1974 VII;
1981 IV; 1987 XXXIII; 1994 XXX
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 2022-08-09 (JD 2459800.5)
Aphelion5.90 AU[1]
Perihelion1.306 AU[1]
3.61 AU
Eccentricity0.6377
6.85 yr
Inclination29.30°
2028-Dec-11[2]
February 1, 2022 (last)[1]
Earth MOID0.36 AU (54 million km)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions8×4×4 km[3]
2.4 km[4]
Mass2×1013 kg[5]
Mean density
0.3 g/cm3[6]
Albedo0.03[7]
Perihelion distance
at recent epochs[1]
Epoch Perihelion
(AU)
2028 1.310[2]
2022 1.306
2015 1.349
2008 1.355

Comet Borrelly /bɒˈrɛli/ or Borrelly's Comet (official designation: 19P/Borrelly) is a comet with a period of 6.85 years that was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001. The comet last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on February 1, 2022[1][8] and will next come to perihelion on December 11, 2028.[2]

19P/Borrelly closest Earth approach on 2028-Dec-05
Date & time of
closest approach 		Earth distance
(AU) 		Sun distance
(AU) 		Velocity
wrt Earth
(km/s) 		Velocity
wrt Sun
(km/s) 		Uncertainty
region
(3-sigma) 		Reference
2028-Dec-05 19:12 ± 6 min 0.413 AU (61.8 million km; 38.4 million mi; 161 LD) 1.31 AU (196 million km; 122 million mi; 510 LD) 17.3 33.3 ± 41 thousand km Horizons

Deep Space 1 returned images of the comet's nucleus from 3400 kilometers away. At 45 meters per pixel, it was the highest resolution view ever seen of a comet.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d e MPC
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Horizons2028 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Weaver, H. A.; Stern, S.A.; Parker, J. Wm. (2003). "Hubble Space Telescope STIS Observations of Comet 19P/BORRELLY during the Deep Space 1 Encounter". The Astronomical Journal. 126 (1). The American Astronomical Society: 444–451. Bibcode:2003AJ....126..444W. doi:10.1086/375752.
  4. ^ "19P/Borrelly: Facts & Figures". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  5. ^ Using the volume of an ellipsoid of 8x4x4km * a rubble pile density of 0.3 g/cm3 yields a mass (m=d*v) of 2.0E+13 kg.
  6. ^ D. T. Britt; G. J. Consol-magno SJ; W. J. Merline (2006). "Small Body Density and Porosity: New Data, New Insights" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVII. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  7. ^ Robert Roy Britt (2001-11-29). "Comet Borrelly Puzzle: Darkest Object in the Solar System". Space.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yoshida was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Beatty, Kelly (25 June 2004). "Meet Comet Borrelly". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 27 January 2021.