32P/Comas Solá
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| Comet (List of comets) |
|
|---|---|
| No image. | |
| Discovery | |
| Discoverer | Josep Comas Solá |
| Discovery date | November 5, 1926 |
| Alternate designations |
1944 II; 1952 VII; 1951h; 1961 III; 1960f; 1969 VIII; 1968g; 1978 XVII; 1977n; 1987 XVIII; 1986j; 32P/1926 V1; 1927 III; 1926f; 32P/1935 P1; 1935 IV; 1935c; 32P/1960 VL; 1961 III; 1960f |
| Orbital elements A | |
|
|
|
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.5699 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 4.263 AU |
| Perihelion (q) | 1.834 AU |
| Aphelion (Q) | 6.692 AU |
| Orbital period (P) | 8.801 a |
| Inclination (i) | 12.9312° |
| Last perihelion date | April 1, 2005 |
| Next est. perihelion date | 2014 |
32P/Comas Solá is the name of a periodic comet with a current orbital period of 8.8 years.
[edit] Discovery
32P/Comas Solá was discovered November 5, 1926 by Josep Comas Solá. As part of his work on asteroids for the Fabra Observatory (Barcelona), he was taking photographs with a 6 inch telescope. The comet's past orbital evolution became a point of interest as several astronomers suggested early on that the comet might be a return of the then lost periodic comet Spitaler (aka 113P/Spitaler). In 1935 additional positions had been obtained, and P. Ramensky investigated the orbital motion back to 1911. He noted the comet passed very close to Jupiter during May of 1912 and that, prior to this approach, the comet had a perihelion distance of 2.15 AU and an orbital period of 9.43 years. The identity with comet Spitaler was disproven.
| Comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous periodic comet | 32P/Comas Solá | Next periodic comet |
