Comet Donati

There are three Donati comets: C/1855 L1 (a.k.a. 1855 II), C/1858 L1 (this one), and C/1864 R1 (a.k.a. 1864 I).
C/1858 L1 (Donati)
Donati's Comet, Oxford, 7:30 p.m., 5 Oct. 1858 by William Turner
Discovery
Discovered byGiovanni Battista Donati
Discovery date1858
Designations
1858 VI
Orbital characteristics
Observation arc270 days
Number of
observations		1000
Aphelion~289 AU[1]
Perihelion0.578 AU[2]
Semi-major axis~145 AU[1]
Eccentricity0.996
Orbital period~1,739 yr (outbound)[1]
Inclination116.9°[2]
Last perihelionSeptember 30, 1858[2]
Next perihelion≈3600

Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who first observed it on June 2, 1858. After the Great Comet of 1811, it was the most brilliant comet that appeared in the 19th century. It was also the first comet to be photographed.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference barycenter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).