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162P/Siding Spring

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Periodic comet with 5 year orbit For other comets discovered by the Siding Spring Observatory, see Comet Siding Spring (disambiguation).
162P/Siding Spring
The comet on 12 November 2004, displaying a narrow tail
Discovery
Discovered bySiding Spring Observatory
Discovery dateOctober 10, 2004
Designations
Alternative designationsP/2004 TU12
Orbital characteristics
Epoch27 October 2010
Aphelion4.873 AU
Perihelion1.233 AU
Semi-major axis3.053 AU
Eccentricity0.5961
Orbital period5.33 years
Inclination27.817°
Last perihelion7 December 2020
Next perihelion17 May 2026
TJupiter2.792
Earth MOID0.239 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions14.06 ± 0.96 km
Sidereal rotation period32.86 hours
Geometric albedo0.022 ± 0.003
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		15.2

162P/Siding Spring is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 5.3 years. It was discovered in images obtained on 10 October 2004 as part of the Siding Spring Survey.

The comet was discovered during the Siding Spring Survey as an asteroidal object shining with an apparent magnitude of 14.1 but a tail extending for about 4 arcminutes was observed on 12 November 2004, indicating that it is a comet. The tail grew longer the next days, reaching a length of over 10 arcminutes on 15 November. Two days later the tail was fainter, and barely visible within one arcminute from the nucleus. On 21 October 2031 the comet will approach Earth at a distance of 0.2456 AU (36.74 million km).

The comet was observed by NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in 2004, finding that the nucleus has an effective radius of 6.0 ± 0.8 km, which corresponds to a visual albedo of 0.034 ± 0.014, and a reflectance spectrum typical of a D-type asteroid. Further observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate an effective radius of 7.03 ± 0.48 km. This is one of the largest nuclei of Jupiter family comets with known radius. More detailed observations indicate that the nucleus has axis ratios a/b = 1.56 and b/c = 2.33, and could possibly have two lobes. The sidereal period of the comet is 32.864 ± 0.001 hours.

See also

References

  1. ^ Mallia, F.; Masi, G.; Wilcox, R.; Lacruz, J. (1 November 2004). "Comet P/2004 TU_12 (Siding Spring)". International Astronomical Union Circular (8436): 1. ISSN 0081-0304.
  2. ^ "Small-Body Database Lookup: 162P/Siding Spring". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. ^ Fernández, Y.R.; Kelley, M.S.; Lamy, P.L.; Toth, I.; Groussin, O.; Lisse, C.M.; A’Hearn, M.F.; Bauer, J.M.; Campins, H.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Licandro, J.; Lowry, S.C.; Meech, K.J.; Pittichová, J.; Reach, W.T.; Snodgrass, C.; Weaver, H.A. (September 2013). "Thermal properties, sizes, and size distribution of Jupiter-family cometary nuclei". Icarus. 226 (1): 1138–1170. arXiv:1307.6191. Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1138F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.021.
  4. ^ Donaldson, A; Kokotanekova, R; Rożek, A; Snodgrass, C; Gardener, D; Green, S F; Masoumzadeh, N; Robinson, J (2 March 2023). "Characterizing the nucleus of comet 162P/Siding Spring using ground-based photometry". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 521 (1): 1518–1531. arXiv:2302.12141. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad616.
  5. Masi, G. (1 November 2004). "Comet P/2004 TU_12 (Siding Spring)". International Astronomical Union Circular (8439): 1. ISSN 0081-0304.
  6. ^ Fernández, Y. R.; Campins, H.; Kassis, M.; Hergenrother, C. W.; Binzel, R. P.; Licandro, J.; Hora, J. L.; Adams, J. D. (September 2006). "Comet 162P/Siding Spring: A Surprisingly Large Nucleus". The Astronomical Journal. 132 (3): 1354–1360. arXiv:astro-ph/0608387. Bibcode:2006AJ....132.1354F. doi:10.1086/506252.
  7. Campins, Humberto; Ziffer, Julie; Licandro, Javier; Pinilla-Alonso, Noemí; Fernández, Yanga; León, Julia de; Mothé-Diniz, Thais; Binzel, Richard P. (September 2006). "Nuclear Spectra of Comet 162P/Siding Spring (2004 TU12)". The Astronomical Journal. 132 (3): 1346–1353. Bibcode:2006AJ....132.1346C. doi:10.1086/506253.

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