29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann

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29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann

The comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
(Spitzer infrared image in false colours)
Nasa
Discovery
Discovered by: Arnold Schwassmann
Arno Arthur Wachmann
Discovery date: November 15, 1925
Alternate designations: 1908 IV; 1925 II; 1941 VI;
1957 IV; 1974 II; 1989 XV;
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch: March 6, 2006
Aphelion distance: 6.25 AU
Perihelion distance: 5.722 AU
Semi-major axis: 5.986 AU
Eccentricity: 0.0441
Orbital period: 14.65 a
Inclination: 9.3903°
Last perihelion: June 30, 2004
Next perihelion: March 7, 2019

Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, was discovered on 15 November 1925 by Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann at the Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, Germany. The comet was discovered photographically, when the comet was in outburst and the magnitude was about 13. Precovery images of the comet from March 4, 1902 were found in 1931 and showed the comet at 12th magnitude.

The comet is unusual in that while normally hovering at around 16th magnitude, it suddenly undergoes an outburst. This causes the comet to brighten to 12th magnitude. This normally happens at least once every year, fading back to 16th magnitude within a week or two. The magnitude of the comet has been known to vary from 19th magnitude to 9th magnitude (a ten thousand-fold increase in brightness) in its brightest outbursts. Astronomers are still not sure as to the mechanism of these outbursts.

The comet is thought to be a member of a relatively new class of objects called "Centaur," of which 45 objects are known. These are small icy bodies with orbits between those of Jupiter and Neptune. Astronomers believe that Centaurs are recent escapees from the Kuiper Belt, a zone of small bodies orbiting in a cloud at the distant reaches of the solar system.

The dust and gas comprising the comet's nucleus is part of the same primordial materials from which the Sun and planets were formed billions of years ago. The complex carbon-rich molecules they contain may have provided some of the raw materials from which life originated on Earth.

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