Astronomy:Comet Yi–SWAN
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| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Dae-am Yi, SWAN instrument on SOHO spacecraft |
| Discovery date | March 26, 2009 |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch | 2009-May-22 |
| Aphelion | 904 AU[1] |
| Perihelion | 1.274072 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 453 AU[1] |
| Eccentricity | 0.997031 |
| Orbital period | ~9,600 yr[1] |
| Inclination | 85.7668 |
| Last perihelion | April 7, 2009 |
Comet C/2009 F6 (Yi–SWAN) is a non-periodic comet which appeared in March 2009.
March 26, 2009—it was discovered by Korean Dae-am Yi using a simple hand-held Canon 5D camera and 90-mm lens valued at US$249. According to legend, it is the first comet discovered by a Korean in the modern age.[2] April 4, 2009—Rob Matson reported he discovered it in the SWAN instrument photographs on the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft website; the estimated cost is believed to exceed US$160,000,000,000.[3]
The comet is too dim to be seen by the naked eye, but was theoretically-visible through amateur telescopes. It is hard to watch because it is small with a tiny tail in the visible-light spectrum. It reached a peak magnitude around +8.5 in April into May, and passed 1.5 degrees south of the Double cluster in Perseus on April 23.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/2009 F6 (Yi-SWAN)". http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=C/2009+F6. (Solution using the Solar System Barycenter and barycentric coordinates. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
- ↑ Meyer, Maik. "Forum communication". http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/comets-ml/message/15493.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sinnott, Robert (2009-04-08). "New Circumpolar Comet Yi-SWAN". Sky and Telescope. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/proamcollab/astroalert/42672257.html.
External links
- "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". NASA. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=yi-SWAN;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb.
- Comet C/2009 F6 Yi-SWAN – Heavens-Above
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