178P/Hug-Bell

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178P/Hug-Bell
Discovery
Discovered by: Gary Hug and Graham E. Bell
Discovery date: December 10, 1999
Alternate designations: 1999 X1, 2006 O1
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch: July 4, 2006
Aphelion distance: 5.414 AU
Perihelion distance: 1.947000 AU
Semi-major axis: 3.680285 AU
Eccentricity: 0.470965
Orbital period: 7.06 a
Inclination: 10.9629°
Last perihelion: July 6, 2006
Next perihelion (predicted): 2013

178P/Hug-Bell is a periodic comet in our solar system. It was discovered by Northeast Kansas Amateur Astronomers League members Gary Hug and Graham Bell and is thought to be the first periodic comet to be first discovered by amateurs. It was declared a comet less than two days after its inital discovery, after having its course confirmed on previous images.[1]

Hug-Bell's orbit is around seven years long and is entirely contained between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. It is not a very bright comet with a magnitude of 18.8. [2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Winter, Jennifer and Winter, Vic. Comet Hug-Bell Discovery!.. ICSTARS Astronomy. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  2. ^ 178P/Hug-Bell (1999).. Seiichi Yoshida July 21, 2006.. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.

[edit] External links


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