| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | William R. Brooks Lewis A. Swift |
| Discovery site | New York, USA |
| Discovery date | 24 February 1883 |
| Designations | |
| Alternative designations | 1883a 1883 I |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 12 March 1883 (JD 2408881.5) |
| Observation arc | 31 days |
| Number of observations | 9 |
| Perihelion | 0.760 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.000077 |
| Inclination | 78.066° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 279.77° |
| Argument of periapsis | 110.89° |
| Last perihelion | 19 February 1883 |
| Earth MOID | 0.110 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.824 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Apparent magnitude | 6.0–7.0 (1883 apparition) |
Comet Brooks–Swift, also known as C/1883 D1 by its modern nomenclature, is a hyperbolic comet that was visible telescopically to Earth in the early months of 1883. It was discovered independently by two American astronomers, William Robert Brooks and Lewis A. Swift.
Discovery and observations
The comet was discovered on the morning of 24 February 1883 in the constellation Pegasus. Both Brooks and Swift spotted the comet about 25 minutes from one another, with initial orbital calculations suggesting it already passed perihelion on 19 February.
Nikolaus von Konkoly made spectroscopic observations of the comet on 3 March, two days after it made its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 1.156 AU (172.9 million km). Seth C. Chandler, Jr. watched the comet occult an 8th-magnitude star on the night of 5 March, which enabled him to measure the comet's apparent magnitude at the time. By late March, the comet started to fade away rapidly, until it was last observed within the constellation Orion on 24 April 1883.
References
Notes
- There are no estimates for the comet's total magnitude were recorded, except for the central condensation of its nucleus.
- Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 22 50 , δ = 28° 00′
Citations
- "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- "C/1883 D1 (Brooks–Swift) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ G. W. Kronk (2003). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 2: 1800–1899. Cambridge University Press. pp. 518–520. ISBN 978-0-521-58505-7.
- M. M. Neill (1883). "Observations of Comet 1883 Brooks-Swift at Princeton, New Jersey, USA" (PDF). Astronomische Nachrichten. 105 (24): 389–390. doi:10.1002/asna.18831052405.
- R. Bryant (1884). "The Elements of the Orbit of Comet a, 1883 (Brooks–Swift)" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 44 (3): 88. doi:10.1093/mnras/44.3.88.
- N. de Konkoly (1883). "Spectroscopic Observations of Comet a, 1883 (Brooks–Swift)" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 43 (6): 328–329. Bibcode:1883MNRAS..43..328D. doi:10.1093/mnras/43.6.328a.
- S. C. Chandler, Jr. (1883). "Observations of Comet 1883 I (Brooks–Swift)". Astronomische Nachrichten. 106 (1): 9–12. Bibcode:1883AN....106....9C. doi:10.1002/asna.18841060105.
External links
- C/1883 D1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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