Comet Humason

Not to be confused with another long-period comet named Humason: C/1960 M1 (aka 1959 X, 1960e).
C/1961 R1 (Humason)
Comet Humason on September 4, 1962, by the Palomar Observatory
Discovery
Discovered byMilton L. Humason
Discovery date1 September 1961
Designations
1961e
1962 VIII
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch12 May 1963 (JD 2438161.5)
Observation arc1,517 days (4.15 years)
Number of
observations		80
Aphelion408.706 AU
Perihelion2.1334 AU
Semi-major axis205.419 AU
Eccentricity0.98961
Orbital period2883 years (barycentric inbound)
2516 years (barycentric outbound)
Inclination153.278°
155.439°
Argument of
periapsis		233.562°
Last perihelion10 December 1962
TJupiter–1.588
Earth MOID1.2247 AU
Jupiter MOID1.0725 AU
Physical characteristics[2][3]
Dimensions30−41 km
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		1.5–3.5
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		10.1

Comet Humason, formally designated C/1961 R1 (a.k.a. 1962 VIII and 1961e), was a non-periodic comet discovered by Milton L. Humason on September 1, 1961. Its perihelion was well beyond the orbit of Mars, at 2.133 AU. The outbound orbital period is about 2,516 years. The diameter of its comet nucleus is estimated at 30−41 km.[2]

It was a "giant" comet, much more active than a normal comet for its distance to the Sun, with an absolute magnitude of 1.5−3.5, it could have been up to a hundred times brighter than an average new comet. It had an unusually disrupted or "turbulent" appearance.[3] It was also unusual in that the spectrum of its tail showed a strong predominance of the ion CO+, a result previously seen unambiguously only in Comet Morehouse (C/1908 R1).[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Irish_1964 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Brandt_2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Huebner_1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).