60P/Tsuchinshan

For other comets discovered by the "Purple Mountain Observatory", see Comet Tsuchinshan.

60P/Tsuchinshan
Comet Tsuchinshan 2, imaged from the Zwicky Transient Facility on 4 January 2019
Discovery
Discovery sitePurple Mountain Observatory
Discovery date11 January 1965
Designations
P/1965 A2, P/1971 S1
  • Tsuchinshan 2
  • 1965 II, 1971 X, 1978 XVI
  • 1985 X, 1992 XII
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc59.59 years
Number of
observations		1,656
Aphelion5.143 AU
Perihelion1.646 AU
Semi-major axis3.529 AU
Eccentricity0.53369
Orbital period6.63 years
Inclination3.579°
267.39°
Argument of
periapsis		216.91°
Mean anomaly18.344°
Last perihelion20 July 2025
Next perihelion10 March 2032[1]
TJupiter2.864
Earth MOID0.640 AU
Jupiter MOID0.128 AU
Physical characteristics[2]
Mean radius
0.69 km (0.43 mi)[4]
  • (B−V) = 0.78±0.15[5]
  • (V−R) = 0.30±0.08[5]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		9.6
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		14.9

60P/Tsuchinshan, also known as Tsuchinshan 2, is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of around 6.63 years.[6] Tsuchinshan is the Wade-Giles transliteration corresponding to the pinyin Zǐjīn Shān 紫金山, which is Mandarin Chinese for "Purple Mountain".

Observational history

It was discovered at the Purple Mountain Observatory, Nanjing, China on 11 January 1965 with a magnitude estimated as a very faint 15. The elliptical orbit was computed to give a perihelion date of 9 February 1965 with an orbital period of 6.69 years. Revised calculations predicted the next perihelion would be on 28 November 1971 and Elizabeth Roemer of the University of Arizona successfully relocated the comet with the 154-cm reflector at Catalina. It was also observed in 1978, 1985, 1991-1992, and 1998-1999.

The comet peaked at about apparent magnitude 16.3 in 2012.[7] On 29 December 2077, the comet will pass 0.068 AU (10.2 million km) from Mars.[2]

Physical characteristics

Initial estimates of the size of its nucleus place it around 0.5–0.8 km (0.31–0.50 mi) in radius.[8] Photometric data of its absolute nuclear magnitude later revised this to 0.69 km (0.43 mi) in 2006.[4] During its 2018–2019 apparition, dust production levels from Tsuchinshan 2 at perihelion were found to be significantly greater than other JFCs like 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresak, and 103P/Hartley, although slightly lower than that of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.[5] It saw increased cometary activity by 1.3 times when its perihelion was reduced by 0.15 AU (22 million km) after a close encounter with Jupiter in 2008.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Horizons Batch for 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 (90000658) on 2032-Mar-10" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025. (JPL#K253/1, Soln.date: 2025-Feb-28)
  2. ^ a b c "60P/Tsuchinshan – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  3. ^ "60P/Tsuchinshan Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b G. Tancredi; J. A. Fernández; H. Rickman; J. Licandro (2006). "Nuclear magnitudes and the size distribution of Jupiter family comets". Icarus. 182 (2): 527–549. Bibcode:2006Icar..182..527T. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.01.007.
  5. ^ a b c J. Shi; R. Xu; Y. Ma; et al. (2023). "Monitoring Cometary Activity of 60P/Tsuchinshan During Its 2018–2019 Apparition". The Astrophysical Journal. 943 (1): 26–39. Bibcode:2023ApJ...943...26S. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac9c5f.
  6. ^ "60P/Tsuchinshan 2". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  7. ^ Seiichi Yoshida (7 December 2011). "60P/Tsuchinshan 2 (2012)". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  8. ^ P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; Y. R. Fernández; H. A. Weaver (2004). "The Sizes, Shapes, Albedos, and Colors of Cometary Nuclei" (PDF). Comets II. University of Arizona Press. pp. 223–264. Bibcode:2004come.book..223L. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1v7zdq5.22. ISBN 978-0-8165-2450-1. JSTOR j.ctv1v7zdq5.22.
  9. ^ J. Li; J. Shi; Y. Ma (2023). "Secular light curves of comets 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 and 62P/Tsuchinshan 1" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 518 (2): 3192–3200. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.518.3192L. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac3269.


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