Comet Donati

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are three Donati comets: C/1855 L1 (a.k.a. 1855 II), C/1858 L1 (this one), and C/1864 R1 (a.k.a. 1864 I).

C/Donati 1858 L1

Comet Donati
Discovery
Discovered by:	Giovanni Battista Donati
Discovery date:	1858
Alternate designations:	1858 VI
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch:	2400040.5
Aphelion distance:	311 AU
Perihelion distance:	0.58 AU
Semi-major axis:	156 AU
Eccentricity:	0.996
Orbital period:	1,953 yr. (a)
Inclination:	117°
Last perihelion:	September 30, 1858
Next perihelion:	3811

Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, was a comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who first observed it on June 2, 1858. The comet is considered a non-periodic comet. After the Great Comet of 1811, it was the most brilliant comet that appeared in the 19th century. It was also the first comet to be photographed. It was nearest the Earth on October 10, 1858.

[edit] See also

• C/1857 V1 (a.k.a. 1857 VI), Comet Donati-van Arsdale
• C/1864 O1 (a.k.a. 1864 III), Comet Donati-Toussaint

[edit] References

• JPL DASTCOM Comet Table