209P / LINEAR

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209P / LINEAR [i]
Comet 209P LINEAR in Ursa Major.jpg
209P / LINEAR (center) in the middle of a star field
Properties of the orbit ( animation )
Orbit type short-term
Numerical eccentricity 0.692021
Perihelion 0.903 AU
Aphelion 4,961 AU
Major semi-axis 2.932 AU
Sidereal period 5.02 a
Inclination of the orbit plane 20.619 °
Perihelion June 12, 2019
Physical properties of the core
Medium diameter 2.4 km × 3 km
history
Explorer LINEAR
Date of discovery February 3, 2004
Older name P / 2004 CB, P / 2008 X2
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . Please also note the note on comet articles .

209P / LINEAR is a comet that was discovered on February 3rd, 2004 by the automatic search program LINEAR .

history

On the first recordings, 209P / LINEAR showed no coma , which is why the object was initially classified as an asteroid . Only with the exception of the Australian astronomer Robert McNaught could a tail be detected on March 30, 2004 . During its first perihelion passage in April 2004, the comet had a magnitude of around 16.5 mag . When the 209P / LINEAR passed the point closest to the sun again almost 5 years later, it reached a brightness of 14 mag.

On May 29, 2014, 209P / LINEAR passed Earth at a distance of 0.055 AU , the ninth closest observed encounter with a comet at this point in time. Despite the close flyby, the comet only achieved a brightness of 12.2 mag. With the help of the radio telescope from the Arecibo Observatory , the core of the comet could be observed. The elongated core is 2.4 kilometers × 3 kilometers in size. Carl W. Hergenrother determined a rotation period of about 11 hours with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope .

When 209P / LINEAR approached the sun again in 2019, it reached a brightness of 17 mag.

May camelopardalids

209P / LINEAR is the mother comet of the meteor shower May Camelopardalids, which have their radians in the constellation Giraffe . During the narrow passage in 2014, a rate of over 200 meteors per hour was predicted for the night of 23 to 24 May 2014, but a zenithal hourly rate of around 15 meteors per hour was ultimately observed.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b aerith.net: 209P / LINEAR (2004) , accessed on April 19, 2020
  2. ↑ cometography.com: 209P / LINEAR , accessed April 19, 2020
  3. ↑ aerith.net: 209P / LINEAR (2009) , accessed on April 19, 2020
  4. ↑ a b fg-kometen.vdsastro.de: Interesting weaker comets 2014 , accessed on April 19, 2020
  5. ↑ newsroom.usra.edu: Arecibo Observatory Sees Comet 209P / LINEAR , accessed on April 19, 2020
  6. ↑ aerith.net: 209P / LINEAR (2019) , accessed on April 19, 2020
  7. ↑ nasa.gov: A Possible New Meteor Shower: May Camelopardalids , accessed on April 19, 2020