| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Kacper Wierzchoś |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon |
| Discovery date | 3 March 2024 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | C/2024 E1 |
| Alternative designations | CK24E010 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 21 December 2024 |
| Earliest precovery date | 15 February 2024 |
| Perihelion | 0.5656 AU (84.61 million km) |
| Semi-major axis | >10,000 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.000031 |
| Inclination | 75.237° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 108.086° |
| Argument of periapsis | 243.647° |
| Longitude of perihelion | 135.306° |
| Earth MOID | 1.011 AU (151.2 million km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mean diameter | unknown |
C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) is an Oort-cloud non-periodic comet, discovered on 3 March 2024 by a Polish astronomer, Kacper Wierzchoś. It will reach perihelion on 20 January 2026, when it could have an apparent magnitude of +5.
Discovery
During a routine Mt. Lemmon survey (G96) search on 3rd March 2024, one of the scientists participating in this project, Kacper Wierzchoś spotted a moving object in four, 30-second exposure images taken using an f/1.6 1.5 metres (59 in) Cassegrain telescope, equipped with a 111.5 megapixel (10,560 x 10,560 pixel) CCD. It appeared in the constellation of Draco, about 2 degrees north of the star ν Draconis. To confirm cometary activity, he obtained three additional, 60-second images. The comet was reported to have a condensed 4 arcsec coma and a 6 arcsec tail.
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
- http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/005300/CBET005364.txt
- https://people.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/coms24.htm#24E1
- "Facilities". Catalina Sky Survey. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- https://stellarium.org/
- ^ http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/005300/CBET005364.txt
- "MPEC 2024-E102 : COMET C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- "COBS - Comet OBServation database". www.cobs.si. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ^ "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) | astro.vanbuitenen.nl". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 2024-12-22.