| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Edward Emerson Barnard |
| Discovery date | June 24, 1889 |
| Designations | |
| Alternative designations | 177P/1889 M1; 1889 III; 1889c; 177P/2006 M3 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 2013-Apr-18 (JD 2456400.5) |
| Aphelion | 48.05 AU (47.74 AU in 2066) |
| Perihelion | 1.12 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 24.58 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.954 |
| Orbital period | 122 yr 120y 7m 16d (perihelion to perihelion) |
| Inclination | 31.05° |
| Last perihelion | August 28, 2006 June 21, 1889 |
| Next perihelion | April 13, 2127 |
Comet 177P/Barnard, also known as Barnard 2, is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 122 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with (20 years < period < 200 years). It orbits near the ecliptic plane and has aphelion near the Kuiper cliff at 48 AU (7.2 billion km).
The comet, also designated P/2006 M3, was discovered by Edward Emerson Barnard on June 24, 1889, and was re-discovered after 116 years. On July 19, 2006, 177P came within 0.366 AU (54.8 million km) of Earth. From late July through September 2006 it was slightly brighter than expected at 8th magnitude in the constellations Hercules and then Draco. Perihelion was August 28, 2006. It was last observed in December 2006 when it was about 2 AU (300 million km) from the Sun.
The only numbered comets with an orbital period longer than 177P/Barnard are: 153P/Ikeya–Zhang (365 years), 273P/Pons–Gambart (188 years), 35P/Herschel–Rigollet (155 years), and 109P/Swift-Tuttle (133 years).
Of Barnard's other two periodic comets, the first, D/1884 O1 (Barnard 1) was last seen on November 20, 1884, and is thought to have disintegrated. The last, 206P/Barnard-Boattini marked the beginning of a new era in cometary astronomy, as it was the first to be discovered by photography. It was a lost comet after 1892, until accidentally rediscovered on October 7, 2008, by Andrea Boattini.
References
- ^ "177P/Barnard Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
- "Horizons Batch for 177P/Barnard aphelion on 2066-Nov-03". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Seiichi Yoshida (calculated by Kazuo Kinoshita). "177P/Barnard 2". Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
- ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 177P/Barnard". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
2006-12-11 last obs
- Syuichi Nakano (2006-10-01). "177P/Barnard 2 (NK 1369)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
- "Horizons Batch for 177P/Barnard on 2127-Apr-13" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-04-29. (JPL#29/Soln.date: 2021-Apr-15)
- Naoyuki Kurita. "Comet Barnard 2 on Aug 4, 2006". Stellar Scenes. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- "177P/Barnard". Kazuo Kinoshita. 2006-11-18. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris
- 177P/Barnard – Kazuo Kinoshita (2011 Jan. 17)
- 177P at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 176P/LINEAR |
177P/Barnard | Next 178P/Hug-Bell |
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