85P/Boethin
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| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by: | Leo Boethin |
| Discovery date: | January 4, 1975 |
| Alternate designations: | 85P/1975 A1; 1975 I; 1975a; 85P/1985 T2; 1986 I; 1985n |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch: | January 10, 1986 (JD 2446440.5) |
| Aphelion distance: | 20.7560 AU |
| Perihelion distance: | 1.1143 AU |
| Semi-major axis: | 11.67560 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.7777 |
| Orbital period: | 11.225 a |
| Inclination: | 5.756° |
| Last perihelion: | January 16, 1986 |
| Next perihelion: | June 29, 2008 |
Comet Boethin (or 85P/Boethin) is a periodic comet discovered in 1975 by Reverend Leo Boethin. Although the comet was next expected at perihelion on 1997 April 17, no observations were reported.
It was to be a target of NASA's EPOXI comet-exploration mission in December of 2008; however, the comet was not recovered in time to set up the trajectory for the flyby with sufficient accuracy. It is thought that the comet may have broken into pieces too small for visual detection.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~comet/pcmtn/0085p.htm
- "Deep Impact Flyby Spacecraft Ready For New Mission" (from space.com, July 14, 2005)
- 85P/Boethin history (from cometography.com)
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|---|---|---|
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| List of periodic comets | ||
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