C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)

For other comets of the same name, see Comet Lovejoy.

C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)
C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) from a 3-minute exposure taken using a 6" refractor on 28 November 2013
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byTerry Lovejoy
Discovery siteThornlands, Australia
Discovery date7 September 2013
Designations
CK13R010[2]
Orbital characteristics[4][5]
Epoch29 December 2013 (JD 2456655.5)
Observation arc372 days (1.02 years)
Number of
observations		3,894
Aphelion~830 AU (outbound)
Perihelion0.812 AU
Eccentricity0.99843
Orbital period~6,900 years (inbound)
~8,500 years (outbound)
Inclination64.041°
70.711°
Argument of
periapsis		67.166°
Mean anomaly0.001°
Last perihelion22 December 2013[3]
TJupiter0.499
Earth MOID0.146 AU
Jupiter MOID1.564 AU
Physical characteristics[8]
Mean radius
1.266 ± 0.10 km (0.787 ± 0.062 mi)
Mean density
480±70 kg/m3
47.8±1.2 hours[6]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		11.5[5]
4.0
(2013 apparition)[7]

C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) is a non-periodic comet discovered on 7 September 2013 using a 0.2 m (7.9 in) Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope.[2] It is the fourth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy. It crossed the celestial equator on 14 October 2013, which made it better observed from the Northern Hemisphere.

Observational history

By 1 November 2013, the comet was visible to the naked eye near the Beehive Cluster (M44), about halfway between Jupiter and Regulus.[9] It became more impressive than C/2012 S1 (ISON).[10] In binoculars, the comet has the appearance of a green, unresolved globular cluster.

C/2013 R1 made its closest approach to Earth on 19 November 2013 at a distance of 0.3967 AU (59.35 million km),[5] and reached an apparent magnitude of about 4.5.[11] On 27 November 2013 the comet was in the constellation of Canes Venatici, near the bottom of the handle of the Big Dipper. From 28 November until 4 December 2013, the comet was in the constellation Boötes. On 1 December 2013 it passed the star Beta Boötis.[12] From 4 December until 12 December 2013, the comet was in the constellation Corona Borealis.

From 12 December until 14 January 2014, the comet was in the constellation Hercules. On 14 December 2013, it passed the star Zeta Herculis.[12] The comet came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 22 December 2013 at a distance of 0.81 AU (121,000,000 km; 75,000,000 mi) from the Sun.[3] At perihelion, the comet had an elongation of 51 degrees from the Sun. By September 2014, the comet had faded to magnitude 18.[13]

Physical characteristics

Chemical composition

Narrow-band spectroscopy of the comet in December 2013 revealed that the coma of C/2013 R1 has a relatively high abundance in H2O and CO2 molecules.[14] Additional photometry from TRAPPIST until July 2014 determined that the detected organic compounds on its coma (OH, NH, CN, C3, and C2) were partly caused by the breakdown of HCN outgassing from the comet.[15]

Infrared observations from the Keck Observatory detected enriched amounts of CO, as well as hydrocarbons like CH4, C2H6, and CH3OH, indicating the variability of chemicals found in other Oort cloud comets.[16] Other complex organic compounds, such as HCOOH, CH3CHO, (CH2OH)2 and NH2CHO, were also detected from the comet.[17]

Nucleus size and rotation

The nucleus of C/2013 R1 is estimated to be about 1.266±0.10 km in radius, with a low bulk density of roughly about 480±70 kg/m3.[8] Measurements of the dust emission structures around the comet determined that it has a rotation period about 47.8±1.2 hours in length.[6]

References

  1. ^ E. Guido; N. Howes; H. Sato; et al. (September 2013). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 3649. Bibcode:2013CBET.3649....1G.
  2. ^ a b c K. Kadota; F. Fratev; M. Minkov; et al. (9 September 2013). "Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. 2013-R72. Bibcode:2013MPEC....R...72K.
  3. ^ a b A. Kostov; P. Enikova; K. Cernis; et al. (9 November 2013). "Observations and Orbits of Comets". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. 2013-V48. Bibcode:2013MPEC....V...48K.
  4. ^ Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". Retrieved 30 August 2023. (Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
  5. ^ a b c "C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b F. Manzini; V. Oldani; A. Farina; et al. (2025). "The Slow-Rotating Nucleus of Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". Astronomische Nachrichten. 346 (5): 1–11. Bibcode:2025AN....34640053M. doi:10.1002/asna.20240053.
  7. ^ "Observation list for C/2013 R1". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b M. L. Paradowski (2022). "A New Indirect Method of Determining Density of Cometary Nuclei" (PDF). Acta Astronomica. 72 (2): 141–159. Bibcode:2022AcA....72..141P. doi:10.32023/0001-5237/72.2.4. ISSN 0001-5237.
  9. ^ G. W. Kronk. "C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". Cometography.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ T. Flanders (8 November 2013). "The Other Great Morning Comet". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  11. ^ S. Yoshida (9 November 2013). "C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. ^ a b B. King (29 November 2013). "Move over ISON, time to share the love with Comet Lovejoy". astrobob.areavoices.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  13. ^ G. V. Williams (7 September 2014). "Observations and Orbits of Comets". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. 2014-R69.
  14. ^ P. Rousselot; A. Decock; P. P. Korsun; et al. (2015). "High-resolution spectra of comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 580 (A3): 1–5. Bibcode:2015A&A...580A...3R. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526173.
  15. ^ C. Opitom; E. Jehin; J. Manfroid; et al. (2015). "TRAPPIST photometry and imaging monitoring of comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy): Implications for the origin of daughter species" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 584 (A121): 1–10. arXiv:1507.01520. Bibcode:2015A&A...584A.121O. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526427.
  16. ^ L. Paganini; M. J. Mumma; G. L. Villanueva; et al. (2014). "C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) at IR Wavelengths and the Variability of CO Abundances among Oort Cloud Comets". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 122–130. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..122P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/122.
  17. ^ N. Biver; D. Bockelée-Morvan; V. Debout; et al. (2014). "Complex organic molecules in comets C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) and C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy): detection of ethylene glycol and formamide" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 566 (L5): 1–5. arXiv:1405.6605. Bibcode:2014A&A...566L...5B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201423890.
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