Comet Holmes

17P/Holmes
Comet 17P/Holmes and its blue ion tail
(taken on November 4, 2007)
Discovery
Discovery dateNovember 6, 1892
Designations
1892 V1; 1892 III;
1892f; 1899 L1;
1899 II; 1899d;
1906 III; 1906f;
1964 O1; 1964 X;
1964i; 1972 I;
1971b; 1979 IV;
1979f; 1986 V;
1986f; 1993 VII;
1993i
Orbital characteristics
EpochOctober 27, 2007 (JD 2454400.5)
Aphelion5.183610 AU
Perihelion2.053218 AU
Semi-major axis3.618414 AU
Eccentricity0.432564
Orbital period6.882994 a
Inclination19.1126°
Last perihelionFebruary 19, 2021[1][2]
March 27, 2014
May 4, 2007
Next perihelionJanuary 31, 2028[3][4]

Comet Holmes /ˈhmz/ (official designation: 17P/Holmes) is a periodic comet in the Solar System, discovered by the British amateur astronomer Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892. Although normally a very faint object, Holmes became notable during its October 2007 return when it temporarily brightened by a factor of a million, in what was the largest known outburst by a comet, and became visible to the naked eye.[5] It also briefly became the largest object in the Solar System, as its coma (the thin dissipating dust ball around the comet) expanded to a diameter greater than that of the Sun (although its mass remained minuscule).[6] Between 1857–2106 perihelion remains between 2.05–2.36 AU.[7]

  1. ^ Seiichi Yoshida. "17P/Holmes". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. ^ Syuichi Nakano (2011-05-19). "17P/Holmes (NK 2100)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Archived from the original on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  3. ^ "17P/Holmes Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  4. ^ "Horizons Batch for 17P/Holmes (90000285) on 2028-Jan-31" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-02-11. (JPL#K212/32 Soln.date: 2023-Jan-30)
  5. ^ Gritsevich, M.; Nissinen, M.; Oksanen, A.; Suomela, J.; Silber, E. A. (June 2022). "Evolution of the dust trail of comet 17P/Holmes". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 513 (2): 2201–2214. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac822. hdl:10995/117894.
  6. ^ Jewitt, David (2007-11-09). "Comet Holmes Bigger Than The Sun". Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  7. ^ Kinoshita, Kazuo (2019-05-22). "17P/Holmes past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-19.

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