Comet 22P/Kopff

Comet 22P/Kopff imaged in the infrared at 8.28 micron wavelength with the Spirit III instrument on the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) spacecraft on September 11, 1996 at 15:11:56 UT The comet was 71 days past perihelion and 1.732 AU from the sun. The infrared image shows a dust coma and trail. Image from NASA Planetary Data System MSX Small Bodies Images node.

Kraemer, K., Lisse, C.M., Price, S., Mizuno, D., Walker, R.G., Farnham,T.L., and Makinen, T., AKOPFF. MSX-C-SPIRIT3-3-MSXSB-V1.0:KOPFF_AKOPFF_FIT. NASA Planetary Data System, 2005.

Comet 22P/Kopff was discovered August 22, 1906 by August Kopff at Königstuhl Observatory, Heidelberg, Germany at magnitude 11 on plate/photo taken on the discovery date. Comet 22P/Kopff has been observed on all perihelion returns except the perihelion passage of Nov 25, 1912. Comet 22P/Kopff passes perihelion on October 25, 2015 with perihelion distance 1.558814 AU.

Free online observing session Virtual Telescope project January 25

Free online observing session Virtual Telescope project January 25

Tuesday, January 25 - Gianluca Masi introduces a new PlaneWave 17", corrected Dall-Kirkham telescope at the Virtual Telescope project with this free online observing session. He will demonstrate the advanced capabilities of the telescope integrated with its Paramount ME robotic mount and SBIG STL-6303E, large format CCD camera.

All you need is to click the link to watch the event live over the internet on January 25 at 20:00 UT and watch and listen or join in the chat with others around the world.

Details are posted at the Facebook event page:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144667385588086

or Virtual Telescope Project:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35753846929

The online, free event will be broadcasted live on our web TV here:
http://www.astrowebtv.org/

240P/NEAT

240P/NEAT
Originally uploaded by cbellh47

Comet 240P/NEAT on morning of November 8, 2010 with long curved dust tail.

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

Comet C/2010 J2 (McNaught)

Comet C/2010 J2 (McNaught)
Originally uploaded by cbellh47

Comet C/2010 J2 (McNaught)
18 x 151 sec
0.3-m f/4.7 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD + red filter
Time Stamp: 2010 08 26, 3:41:20 UT
Motion: 1.03"/min in PA 276.2°
Diffuse. Weakly condensed coma
Magnitude: 18.2 N

Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS)

Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS)
Originally uploaded by cbellh47

Comet C/2006 S3 (LONEOS)
4x272s
0.3-m f/4.7 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD + Red Filter
Time Stamp: 2010 08 27, 4:41:18 UT
Motion: 0.60"/min in PA 251.1°
Mag 17.0 N

JAXA Hayabusa-2 mission planned to asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa-2 mission to asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3)  is in the planning stage. The plan is to launch Hayabusa-2 in 2014, land on the asteroid in 2018 and gather surface samples and return to Earth in 2020. The return trip of 2 years versus 6 year total mission time).  The Hayabusa-2  probe will use explosives to make a hole on the asteroid to collect surface materials. JAXA recently announced it submitted a proposal to the country's Space Activities Commission for a less ambitious follow-on to Hayabusa costing about $310 million. The commission and Japanese government will decide the fate of Hayabusa 2 when the JAXA budget is formulated later this year. On Wednesday the trial production of equipment to be loaded on the Hayabusa-2 space probe was approved.

JAXA image

Hayabusa-2 Spacecraft

• ion propulsion
• almost same as first Hayabusa with minor modifications
• flat antenna
• approach involves one Earth swingby
• Minerva 2 - Lander
• sample collection from the asteroid surface with "touch-and-go" approach

Hayabusa-2 and Minerva 2 - Lander (JAXA image)

Orbital diagram of NEA 162173 

(162173) 1999 JU3

• C-type asteroid
• SMASSII spectral class Cg
• expected to contain more organic or hydrated materials than S-type Itokawa
• a = 1.1896212 AU
• e = 0.1902258
• P = 1.30 years
• Apollo or earth crossing Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Potentially Hazard Asteroid  (PHA)
• Discovered 1999-May-10 by LINEAR at Socorro (704)
 

Kyodo News: http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=516945

The Daily Yomiuri - Panel OK's development of Hayabusa successor: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/science/T100805005346.htm

Spaceflight Now - ESA's Cosmic Vision missions depend on priorities abroad: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/23cosmicvision/

Hayabusa-2 -http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/hayabusa2.html#

Asteroid explorer Hayabusa-2  http://b612.jspec.jaxa.jp/mission/e/hayabusa2_e.html