Thursday, September 23, 2010

Discovery of Comet Hartley 2 - 1986 Apparition

Comet Hartley 2 was discovered on March 15, 1986 by Malcolm Hartley at the U. K. Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales. The comet was initially designated as 1986c in IAUC 4197.


Discovery image of comet 103P?Hartley
at 1986 03 15.59361
Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the UK Schmidt Telescope

The comet showed up as a diffuse streak on a photographic plate taken on March 15, 1986. M. Hartley made additional observations were made on March 17, and March 20, 1986. These three observations are given in IAUC 4197 and a preliminary parabolic orbit computed (e =1 assumed) . The initial calculated perihelion date of T = 1985 June 20.07 ET, showed that the comet was seven months post-perihelion and outbound from earth and sun. Earth distance = 3.476 AU. Solar Distance r = 4.452 AU putting the comet between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. The initial magnitude was 17.5 T or "Total comet magnitude".

Subsequent observations in April 1986 by Oak Ridge Observatory and Palomar Observatory were submitted and the orbit refined confirming that the comet was had an elliptical orbit, e < 1, and was periodic with a short period (P < 200 years). 
Perihelion Date T = 1985 June 5.053 ET
Perihelion distance q = 0.96099 AU
eccentricty e =  0.71563
inclination i =  9.181 degrees
Period 6.21 years
Peri. = 174.670 
Node = 226.609 
semi-major axis a = 3.37933 AU 
Daily orbital motion n = 0.158657 degrees/day

The 1986 computed orbit shows that comet 103P/Hartley passed close to Jupiter on November 1982 and again in December 1993

Kazuo Kinoshita Comet Orbit Page for 103P shows close approach to Jupiter:
Jupiter  0.3255 AU on 19821102.5
Jupiter  0.3743 AU on 19931219.3
----------------------
MPC observatory code 413
Code Long.        cos          sin               Name
413 149.06608 0.855595 -0.516262  Siding Spring Observatory



The UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) has an aperture of 1.2 metres and a very wide-angle field of view. The telescope was commissioned in 1973. The telescope was designed to photograph 6.6 x 6.6 degree areas of the night sky on plates 356 x 356 mm (14 x 14 inches) square.






------------------
Using MPCOBS on the Minor Planet Center web site
1986 observations of comet 103P:

0103PJ86E020  A1986 03 15.59361 11 25 25.15 -07 44 15.6          17.5 T 10592413
0103PJ86E020  A1986 03 17.67951 11 23 26.88 -07 27 42.7                 10592413
0103PJ86E020  A1986 03 20.60691 11 20 45.41 -07 04 21.9                 10592413
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 04.12772 11 09 13.39 -05 11 29.2                 10592801
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 05.16007 11 08 32.84 -05 03 52.1                 10592801
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 05.20583 11 08 30.96 -05 03 31.3          18   T 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 05.21069 11 08 30.75 -05 03 28.7                 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 05.21750 11 08 30.50 -05 03 26.0                 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 08.15569 11 06 41.19 -04 42 22.9                 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 08.16097 11 06 40.99 -04 42 20.5                 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 04 08.17083 11 06 40.64 -04 42 16.4                 10592675
0103PJ86E020  A1986 05 10.15791 10 58 11.07 -01 59 12.5                 10794691
0103PJ86E020  A1986 05 10.17935 10 58 11.11 -01 59 08.3                 10794691
0103PJ86E020  A1986 05 10.19726 10 58 11.16 -01 59 04.9                 10794691
0103PJ86E020  A1986 05 12.08925 10 58 17.95 -01 53 34.6                 10794801
0103PJ86E020  A1986 06 07.15793 11 05 31.14 -01 23 08.0                 10892691
0103PJ86E020  A1986 06 07.16865 11 05 31.41 -01 23 08.9                 10892691
0103PJ86E020  A1986 06 07.22340 11 05 32.86 -01 23 09.9                 10892691


------------------------------------------
IAUC 4197 1986 March 24










COMET HARTLEY (1986c)

     Malcolm Hartley, U.K. Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring,
reports his discovery of a comet of magnitude ~ 17-18 with a faint
tail evident:

           1986 UT             R.A.   (1950.0)   Decl.

           Mar. 15.59361     11 22 52.78     - 7 27 45.7
                17.67951     11 20 54.53     - 7 11 14.2
                20.60691     11 18 13.08     - 6 47 55.4

     The following parabolic orbital elements are very uncertain.
A low-inclination, short-period orbit gives similar residuals.

         T = 1985 June 20.07 ET  Peri. = 185.39
                                 Node  = 179.23   1950.0
         q =   0.0759 AU         Incl. =  59.76

     1986 ET     R.A. (1950.0) Decl.      p        r       m1

     Mar. 11    11 27.33    - 8 04.2    3.476    4.452    17.2
          21    11 17.86    - 6 44.8
          31    11 09.42    - 5 27.2    3.733    4.678    17.6
     Apr. 10    11 02.34    - 4 15.0
          20    10 56.79    - 3 11.1    4.118    4.898    18.0
          30    10 52.84    - 2 17.0
     May  10    10 50.41    - 1 33.4    4.594    5.114    18.4
          20    10 49.40    - 1 00.2
          30    10 49.65    - 0 36.8    5.120    5.325    18.8

1986 March 24                  (4197)            Daniel W. E. Green
-------------------------

IAUC 4200: 1986c;

PERIODIC COMET HARTLEY 2 (1986c)
     The following precise positions have been reported:

    1986 UT           R.A.   (1950.0)  Decl.    m1   Observer

    Apr.  5.16007   11 06 00.40   - 4 47 36.4        Schwartz
          5.20583   11 05 58.52   - 4 47 15.6   18   Gibson
          5.21069   11 05 58.31   - 4 47 13.0          "
          5.21750   11 05 58.06   - 4 47 10.3          "

G. Schwartz (Oak Ridge Observatory).  1.5-m reflector.  Weak image.
   Measurer: C.-Y. Shao.
J. Gibson (Palomar Observatory).  1.5-m reflector + CCD.

     A computation from the observations Mar. 15-Apr. 5 confirms
this to be a short-period comet (cf. IAUC 4197).  The solar elongation
would have been too small to permit observations near perihelion.
The revolution period is somewhat uncertain, but the
comet evidently made a rather close approach to Jupiter in 1982.

          T = 1985 June 5.053 ET
      Peri. = 174.670                    e =   0.71563
      Node  = 226.609   1950.0           a =   3.37933 AU
      Incl. =   9.181                    n =   0.158657
          q =   0.96099 AU               P =   6.21 years

     1986 ET     R.A. (1950.0) Decl.      p        r       m1

     Mar. 31    11 09.61    - 5 26.2    2.362    3.312    17.6
     Apr. 10    11 03.09    - 4 13.4
          20    10 58.59    - 3 10.7    2.641    3.446    18.0
          30    10 56.16    - 2 20.6
     May  10    10 55.68    - 1 43.8    3.001    3.575    18.4
          20    10 56.98    - 1 20.1
          30    10 59.81    - 1 08.7    3.407    3.699    18.8
     June  9    11 03.96    - 1 08.3
          19    11 09.21    - 1 17.7    3.825    3.818    19.2
          29    11 15.36    - 1 35.7
     July  9    11 22.25    - 2 01.1    4.230    3.932    19.6




1986 April 8                   (4200)              Brian G. Marsden
-------------------------

Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (1986c) on November 2, 1982 near Jupiter


Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (1986c) on June 5, 1985 at perihelion.
Comet elongation low 

Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (1986c) on March 15, 1986 at discovery.
Comet near earth opposition. 


Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (1986c) on December 19, 1993 near Jupiter



References:

UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST): http://www.aao.gov.au/ukst/
IAUC 4197: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iauc/04100/04197.html
IAUC 4200: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iauc/04200/04200.html
Seiichi Yoshida Comet Page: http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/0103P/index.html
Kazuo Kinoshita Comet Orbit Home Page: http://jcometobs.web.fc2.com/pcmtn/0103p.htm
Cometary Orbit Viewer: http://www.astroarts.com/simulation/cometary-orbit.php
CDS Image Server discovery image of comet 103P from the "Second Epoch Survey" of the southern sky was made by the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the UK Schmidt Telescope digitized and compressed by the SScI: http://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/java/alapre-ok.pl?-c=11+25+25.15+-07+44+15.6&out=image&fmt=FITS&resolution=FULL&qual=SERC+ER+DSS2
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