| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by: | Jean-Jacques Blanpain (Marseille, France) |
| Discovery date: | November 28, 1819 |
| Alternate designations: | D/1819 W1; 2003 WY25? (asteroid — probable comet remnant) |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch: | November 20, 1819 |
| Perihelion: | 0.89237 AU |
| Semi-major axis: | 2.95695 AU |
| Orbital period: | 5.10 a |
| Inclination: | 9.10445° |
| Last perihelion: | 2009 |
| Next perihelion: | 2014 |
D/1819 W1 (Blanplain) is a short-period comet that was discovered by Jean-Jacques Blanpain on November 28, 1819. Blanplain described the comet as having a "very small and confused nucleus". Another independent discovery was made on December 5 of that year by J. L. Pons. Following this the comet was lost, and was given the designation 'D' (Disappeared or Dead). However in 2003, the orbital elements of newly discovered asteroid 2003 WY25 were calculated to be a probable match for the lost comet. Further observations of the asteroid in 2005 by David Jewitt using the University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescope on Mauna Kea, appeared to reveal a faint coma, which supports the theory that 2003 WY25 is the lost comet, or a part of it.[1]
Comet D/1819 W1 has been proposed as the probable source of the Phoenicid meteor stream, since the first observation of a Phoenicids meteor storm in 1956. Analysis of the orbits of asteroid 2003 WY25 have supported this conjecture, and it is thought likely that the comet was already breaking up at the time of its 1819 return. [2]