108P/Ciffréo
Comet Ciffréo imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope from 31 January to 24 May 2022.[1] | |
| Discovery[2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jacqueline Ciffréo |
| Discovery site | Caussols, France |
| Discovery date | 8 November 1985 |
| Designations | |
| P/1985 V1, P/1992 S1 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[4][5] | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 36.38 years |
| Number of observations | 2,612 |
| Aphelion | 5.824 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.664 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.744 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.581 |
| Orbital period | 7.245 years |
| Inclination | 11.432° |
| 50.274° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 354.56° |
| Mean anomaly | 208.49° |
| Last perihelion | 11 October 2021 |
| Next perihelion | 9 December 2028[3] |
| TJupiter | 2.750 |
| Earth MOID | 0.535 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.283 AU |
| Physical characteristics[4] | |
Mean diameter | 0.5 km (0.31 mi)[1] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.9 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 15.9 |
108P/Ciffréo is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 7.25 years around the Sun. It is the only comet discovered by French astronomer, Jacqueline Ciffréo.[6] The comet is noted for having a peculiar double morphology, in which the nucleus is accompanied by a comoving, detached, diffuse tail, which is probably a perspective artifact of particles ejected sunwards and then repelled by solar wind.[1][7]
Observational history
The comet was discovered by Jacqueline Ciffréo on 8 November 1985 using a 0.9 m Schmidt camera at Caussols. The comet was then a diffuse object with an apparent magnitude of 10. H. Kosai from the Tokyo Observatory noticed on 9 November that it also had a faint tail about 1.5 arcminutes long.[2] An elliptical orbit was published by Daniel W. E. Green on 18 November, with an estimated orbital period of 7.81 years, while perihelion had taken place on 28 October 1985 at a distance of 1.72 AU (257 million km).[8] Further observations revealed that the perihelion was on 30 October and the orbital period of the comet was 7.22 years.[6] In December 1985, a detacted coma or tail was detected 6 arcseconds from the nucleus of the comet and extending for 20 arcseconds to the north-east.[9] The visual magnitude of the comet was estimated to be 12.5.[10]
The comet was recovered on 24 September 1992 by J. V. Scotti with the Spacewatch telescope.[11] The comet passed perihelion on 23 January 1993. The next perihelion was in April 2000 and the comet was observed in November and December 1999 and November and December 2000.[6] During the 2014 and 2021 apparition the comet featured a detached coma, similar to that observed in 1985.[7] The peculiar morphology was attributed to a possible fragmentation event,[12] but further observations revealed it is most probably an artifact of the turnaround of particles ejected sunward and repelled by sunlight.[1]
Orbit
The comet is at a 5:3 orbital resonance with Jupiter, allowing for frequent planetary encounters.[13] Between 1900 and 2183, its closest approach to Jupiter will occur on 18 December 2076 at a distance of 0.28 AU (42 million km).[4]
Initial orbital calculations of the comet indicated that it was a recently captured object. However, follow-up studies in 1990 later revealed that its dynamical behavior corresponds to a relatively "aged" object instead, where it has been on its current orbit for at least 1,500 revolutions since at least 12,000 BC.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d Y. Kim; D. C. Jewitt; J. Luu; et al. (2023). "Comet 108P/Ciffréo: The Blob". The Astronomical Journal. 165 (4): 150–158. arXiv:2302.03697. Bibcode:2023AJ....165..150K. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/acba07.
- ^ a b J. L. Heudier; J. Ciffréo; H. Kosai (12 November 1985). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Comet Ciffréo (1985p)". IAU Circular. 4135 (1). Bibcode:1985IAUC.4135....1H. ISSN 0081-0304.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 108P/Ciffréo (90000970) on 2028-Dec-09" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 29 April 2023. (Soln.date: 2022-Aug-16)
- ^ a b c "108P/Ciffréo – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "108P/Ciffréo Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ a b c G. W. Kronk. "108P/Ciffréo". Cometography.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ a b F. Manzini; P. Ochner; V. Oldani; et al. (25 January 2022). "Comet 108P/Ciffréo is not splitting". The Astronomer's Telegram. 15177: 1. Bibcode:2022ATel15177....1M.
- ^ D. W. Green (18 November 1985). "Periodic Comet Ciffréo (1985p)". IAU Circular. 4137 (1). Bibcode:1985IAUC.4137....1G. ISSN 0081-0304.
- ^ D. H. Levy; S. M. Larson (1986). "The Unusual Dust Coma of Comet P/Ciffréo (1985p)". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 18: 811. Bibcode:1986BAAS...18..811L.
- ^ S. M. Larson; D. H. Levy; A. R. Klemola; et al. (3 January 1986). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Periodic Comet Ciffréo (1985p)". IAU Circular. 4158 (2). Bibcode:1986IAUC.4158....2L. ISSN 0081-0304.
- ^ J. V. Scotti; B. G. Marsden (25 September 1992). D. W. Green (ed.). "Periodic Comet Ciffréo (1992s)". IAU Circular. 5618 (1). Bibcode:1992IAUC.5618....1S. ISSN 0081-0304.
- ^ D. C. Jewitt; J. Agarwal; Y. Kim; et al. (1 January 2022). "Disintegrating Comet 108P/Ciffreo". HST Proposal: 16904. Bibcode:2022hst..prop16904J.
- ^ D. Benest; R. Gonczi (1993). "Stochasticity of Two Comets in Resonance with Jupiter". Celestial Mechanics & Dynamical Astronomy. 57 (1–2): 109–112. Bibcode:1993CeMDA..57..109B. doi:10.1007/BF00692466.
- ^ D. Benest; J. Ciffréo; J. L. Heudier (1990). "A Study of the Prediscovery Motion of Comet P/Ciffréo and its Future". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 228 (2): 539–545. Bibcode:1990A&A...228..539B. ISSN 0004-6361.
External links
- 108P/Ciffréo at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 108P/Ciffréo at Seiichi Yoshida's website