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C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)

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Oort cloud comet
C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)
Discovery
Discovered byKacper Wierzchoś
Discovery siteMount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date3 March 2024
Designations
Alternative designationsCK24E010
Orbital characteristics
Epoch16 May 2024 (JD 2460446.5)
Observation arc282 days
Earliest precovery date15 February 2024
Number of
observations		294
Perihelion0.5656 AU (84.61 million km)
Semi-major axis>10,000 AU
Eccentricity1.000026
Inclination75.233°
Longitude of
ascending node		108.117°
Argument of
periapsis		243.657°
Longitude of
perihelion		135.306°
Next perihelion20 January 2026
TJupiter0.238
Earth MOID0.200 AU
Jupiter MOID1.902 AU
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		4.9

C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is a hyperbolic Oort cloud comet, discovered on 3 March 2024 by Polish astronomer Kacper Wierzchoś. It will reach perihelion on 20 January 2026, when it could reach an apparent magnitude of +5.

Discovery

During a routine Mt. Lemmon survey (G96) search on 3 March 2024, one of the scientists participating in the project, Kacper Wierzchoś, spotted a moving object in four, 30-second exposure images taken using an f/1.6 1.5 m (59 in) Cassegrain telescope, equipped with a 111.5 megapixel (10,560 x 10,560 pixel) CCD. It appeared as a 20th-magnitude object in the constellation Draco, about 2 degrees north of the star ν Dra. Since the discovery announcement, the Zwicky Transient Facility have reported that they obtained precovery images of the comet between 15 and 29 February 2024. The comet was reported to have a condensed coma about 4 arcseconds in diameter and a tail about 6 arcseconds long.

Perihelion

The comet will approach perihelion on 20 January 2026 around 18 UT. It will appear about 21 degrees from the Sun and will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Peak brightness will reach approximately +5 magnitude, meaning it could be visible through binoculars. It will be about 1.351 AU (202.1 million km; 125.6 million mi) from Earth.

References

  1. ^ D. W. Green (7 March 2024). "Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2175.
  2. ^ "MPEC 2024-E102: Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  3. ^ J. Shanklin (21 December 2024). "BAA Comet Section: New Comets Discovered in 2024". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  4. "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  5. "Facilities". Catalina Sky Survey. University of Arizona. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  6. "Observation list for C/2024 E1". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  7. ^ G. van Buitenen. "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

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