| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Eustachio Zanotti |
| Discovery site | Bologna, Italy |
| Discovery date | 28 May 1739 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 17 June 1739 (JD 2356384.416) |
| Observation arc | 82 days |
| Perihelion | 0.674 AU |
| Eccentricity | ~1.000 |
| Inclination | 121.260° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 211.044° |
| Argument of periapsis | 104.752° |
| Last perihelion | 17 June 1739 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.3 (1739 apparition) |
C/1739 K1 is a non-periodic comet that was discovered by Italian astronomer Eustachio Zanotti in 1739. It is the parent body of the Leo Minorids meteor shower.
Observational history
Zanotti spotted the comet in the constellation of Lynx on 27 May. He described it as a magnitude 3 star surrounded by nebulosity, while a tail 2 degrees long was spotted using a telescope. Zanotti followed the comet with the naked eye until 17 August, when it was only visible via a telescope. He last observed the comet the next day. It was also observed by James Bradley from 30 May to 10 June and Fuhrmann from June 8 to June 19.
The parabolic orbit calculated by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille indicates it passed perihelion on 17.9 June. The comet had passed at a distance of 0.45 AU on 16 April 1739. The comet has a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 0.049 AU and has been associated with the Leo Minorids meteor shower.
References
- ^ E. Zanotti (1739). "XV. The parabolic orbit for the comet of 1739. Observed by Signor Eustachio Zanotti at Bologna". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 41 (452): 809. doi:10.1098/rstl.1739.0145. ISSN 0261-0523. JSTOR 104378. S2CID 186214215.
- "C/1739 K1 – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ G. W. Kronk; M. Meyer; D. A. J. Seargent (1999). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 1: Ancient–1799. Cambridge University Press. pp. 402–403. ISBN 978-0-521-58504-0.
- P. M. Jenniskens; D. S. Lauretta; M. C. Towner; S. Heathcote; E. Jehin; et al. (2021). "Meteor showers from known long-period comets". Icarus. 365 (114469). doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114469. ISSN 0019-1035.
- P. M. Jenniskens (2006). Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets. Cambridge University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-316-25710-4.
External links
- C/1739 K1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
.png)
 | This comet-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |